The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a stern warning to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, cautioning against the potential sacrifice of Nigeria's education system in compliance with International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommendations.

The Ibadan Zone of ASUU, which includes the University of Ibadan, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Osun State University, University of Ilorin, Kwara State University, and Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, raised these concerns in a statement on Sunday, made available to DAILY POST.

ASUU’s Zonal Coordinator, Professor Oyegoke Oyebamiji, expressed alarm over the proposed abolition of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and its replacement with NELFUND as outlined in the 2024 Public Benefit and Taxation Bill (PBTB).

The Role of TETFund in Advancing Education

Professor Oyebamiji emphasized that TETFund, a brainchild of ASUU, has been instrumental in driving infrastructural development across Nigerian tertiary institutions. The fund has supported academic staff capacity building, cutting-edge research, and the organization of impactful seminars, workshops, and conferences locally and internationally.

TETFund has also enhanced the quality of education by equipping engineering and scientific laboratories, stocking outdated libraries with new books, and establishing state-of-the-art e-libraries in Nigerian universities.

Concerns About NELFUND and Education Funding Cuts

Describing the proposed replacement of TETFund with NELFUND as “cutting one’s nose to spite one’s face,” Oyebamiji pointed to Section 59(3) of the 2024 Nigeria Tax Bill as a major threat to tertiary education funding.

The bill proposes that only 50% of the Development Levy would be allocated to TETFund in 2025 and 2026, with the remaining funds distributed among NITDA, NASENI, and NELFUND. The percentage allocated to TETFund would increase to 66⅔% between 2027 and 2029 but would drop to 0% by 2030 and beyond.

ASUU's Call to Action

ASUU strongly opposes the commercialization of public education and criticized the government for allocating only 7% of the national budget to education, far below UNESCO’s recommended 20% and the 15% promised in Tinubu's campaign manifesto.

The union urged the National Assembly and the Federal Government to reconsider the proposal, strengthen TETFund, and prioritize education funding to safeguard the future of Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

ASUU’s warning serves as a wake-up call to policymakers, emphasizing the importance of sustainable educational funding over adherence to IMF-driven policies that could jeopardize Nigeria’s academic system.