Why govt should boost, not downgrade TETFund funding – Falola
CHIGOZIE AMADI
Renowned historian at the University of Texas at Austin, Prof Toyin Falola, in this interview with GRACE EDEMA, shares his views about TETFund, the tax reform bill, and improving the education sector in Nigeria, among others. Excerpts:
You left Nigeria before the establishment of the ETF, now TETFund. What are your impressions of the organisation’s impact on the education sector, based on your subsequent visits to the country?
When TETfund was introduced, it signalled to the people the government’s commitment to improving higher education in the country. Many of my colleagues who were residents in Nigeria at the time have been beneficiaries of the boisterous wave of academic improvement which TETFund brought. The idea of TETfund was a welcome innovation sponsored by the Education Tax Act of 1993, which required companies to set aside a portion of their taxable income to fund higher education.
It is notewTorthy that the augmentation of education is not just a structural exercise; I have always advocated for restructuring the syllabus, re-engineering the educational apparatus and employing pedagogy. The establishment of TETfund was a step in which I have always asserted that the Nigerian education system is improved; it conceded in this singular act that the education system is nudged beyond structural improvement but institutional revitalisation. At first, people’s notion of TETfund was that it was an educational bank that would provide monetary support to higher education systems in Nigeria; however, the institution’s operation has shown that it goes beyond just funding. Don’t get me wrong; its primary function is to provide financing; however, it has played an existential role in other aspects which facilitate and catalyse higher education – it has, over the years, committed itself to provide a conducive environment, engaging in provision of research centres and facilities and what have you.
Over the years, this institution has been a key industry player in transforming higher education in Nigeria. TETFund has played a pivotal role in revitalising Nigeria’s academic institutions through comprehensive and strategic interventions; it has channelled funds into infrastructural development and deliberately fostered conducive environments with advanced learning and cutting-edge research. The institution has its contours and limitations, the most pronounced being bureaucratic bottlenecks – a common denominator amongst governmental agencies. The most intriguing thing is that despite this limitation, it has found a way to provide solutions to immediate needs and created an ecosystem foundation for sustainable academic excellence.
It is my veritable opinion that TETFund has also created the impression that it is dedicated to engaging a rather holistic approach to education, and its initiatives are not isolated projects but rather a concatenation of efforts to elevate the country’s education beyond regional prominence. Through collective efforts and strategic planning, TETFund has expressed the nation’s commitment to innovation, positioning its academic institutions as centres of excellence that can compete and collaborate beyond the regional stage.
If implemented, the tax reform bills intend to scrap TETFund by 2030. What’s your take on the bills?
I must first acknowledge the genuine intentions of President Bola Tinubu and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. The country’s taxation system has made it rather impossible to have a sustainable plan for businesses to grow and excel. The tax reform bills seek to eliminate some of these threats to companies and increase the country’s economic outflow. However, it is to be conceded that coming alongside these innovations is the imminent disruption of the activities of TETFund and its imminent disintegration without replacements. The Academic Staff Union of Universities has rendered its opinion on the issue, imploring the President to decide against the scrapping of TETFund and to find other ways to implement the reforms without the cut of funding for TETFund. I am not an economic expert, so I cannot speak to the financial effects of the tax reform. However, I can talk about the implication of such on the educational system as an educationist. The establishment of TETFund directly responded to the pressing challenges facing higher education in Nigeria, including poor infrastructure, insufficient funding, and a lack of robust research and development activities. Understanding education’s role in national development, the Nigerian government, led by former President Goodluck Jonathan, launched this initiative to guarantee sustainable funding and drive excellence across the nation’s tertiary institutions. It is also noteworthy to mention that TETFund has achieved impressive milestones. Under the leadership of its Executive Secretary, Sunny Echono, the institution has shown no signs of depletion – the institution has lived up to its standard and the dictates of the objectives of its establishment.
I read a broadcast from President Tinubu where he allayed academics’ fears about the disintegration of TETFund; he said the new tax reform was not to eliminate the agency. Instead, it just sought to change the source of funding for the agency; he stated that it has between now and 2029 to look for new funding. The presidency intends to ensure that Nigeria becomes an attractive place for foreign direct investments and that indigenous companies have the necessary wherewithal to thrive, all efforts culminating in astronomic national economic performance. Different factions have rejected the bills for one reason or another. My opinion here is not a rejection of the bills but an honest appraisal of the implications for the higher education system. While the bills do not entirely scrap out TETFund, it requires that the agency looks for its funding; it is quite an arduous task to ask that an institution, which bears the framework for the nation’s higher education improvement, looks for its funding. The Presidency intends to set up the agency to run into mishaps, but it is a more euphemistic way of saying that the agency has been scrapped. If the Presidency cuts the agency’s funding from assessable taxable incomes, it should fund it or find alternatives.
Do you support abolishing TETFund?
Well! As the President said, there is no abolishment of TETFund; instead, the channel of funding would be blocked after 2029, giving the agency about five years to look for a new source of funding. In my opinion, taking away oxygen from the human body only suggests that the intention is that the individual dies from asphyxiation; this is the same metaphor playing out in the tax reform bill. There is no way that, as an academic, I would support the disintegration of the agency that has facilitated the process of qualitative education in Nigeria. The tax reform bill intends to attract businesses and foreign direct investment to Nigeria. The optical dilemma is, do we start to import talents to work in these industries? The education system in place would develop talents who can take up the positions in these intended companies; if the system is crunched in the kneecaps and fettered with cinder blocks, what then happens? We produce substandard graduates who cannot take up roles in these futuristic companies and corporations; thus, the essence of having companies and corporations that the talents in the country cannot benefit from becomes futile.
The purpose of the bill is to fund NELFUND. Do you think TETFund allocation should be diverted to fund NELFUND?
A lot of criticism has come following the announcement that the President sought to introduce the National Education Loan Fund, a scheme whereby students can access education on loan and pay back the sum borrowed. This is a similarity to the system that exists in America and Britain. Still, the differential dichotomy between both countries and Nigeria is that while the US and UK employ the same measures, its job opportunities are significantly more – students have the luxury of being gainfully employed and paying back the loans. Whereas, in Nigeria, we give out loans to students who would struggle to get jobs after graduation, even the ones who decide to stick to the entrepreneurial path would still experience the hurdles of the Nigerian economy before they can make something out of their lives. This innovation would herald a decline in the academic system, as the basic things provided before under TETFund would have to be accessed by the student via loans. Also, we should expect that tuition would rise to meet the demands of running a public university. Even in the UK and US, this strategy has driven a lot of students into serious debts and liabilities; in fact, a recent study revealed that students aged 25 without student loans are likely to own homes and settle well into life better than the ones with loans.
NELFUND intends to make higher education accessible to students from low-income households. However, its futuristic implications are more disastrous for these individuals as the system would veto whatever goodwill this innovation brings. TETFund has shown tremendous stride over the years. Why incapacitate something that works to replicate a system that is recalcitrant to the Nigerian ecosystem?
How should the government address this situation to ensure adequate funding for education?
A funding system is already in place via TETFund; the government should look into how to maintain such a system and not strangle it. If the government’s concern is attracting foreign direct investment and engendering the growth of indigenous companies, other routes can be explored rather than taking the one that stifles educational funding. There is a solution on the ground; it is counterproductive to kill that one and start the process of finding another panacea.
Given your experience with the American education system, do you believe NELFUND is being operated efficiently and effectively in line with global standards?
According to reports, the institution has disbursed the sum of N5,363,110,671.80 to 40 institutions all over the country, with more than 27,667 students benefitting from this institution – this is an impressive run for an organisation that has not lasted a year. Yes, with my experience with the American system, I believe NELFUND is operating efficiently and transparently for now. We have yet to see or hear about the usual termite that eats into the Nigerian wood of development. However, the better tests would be when those loans mature and the agency’s strategies for recouping the loans.
What recommendations would you propose to the government to enhance the education sector?
I have always advocated for a productive and indigenous pedagogical system of education; I have written articles and pieces on this, trying to sell my point to the Nigerian educational system that pedagogy must be employed in our teaching method. The development of the educational system is not only infrastructural; it also deals with the style and method of teaching. When we start to drive the conversation away from only funding and infrastructure, we begin to get down to the business of genuinely enhancing our educational system. I would also recommend that the government rethink the clogging of the source of funding for TETFund; the agency has heralded serious development – let not the government’s action make the educational system in Nigeria take the walk of the proverbial flamingo.
Donald Trump returned as US President last week. What benefits do you think his presidency will bring to the US-Nigeria relationship?
The American people met this inauguration with the highest delight as his inauguration comprised deliberate efforts to save the expulsion of Tiktok from the US and the resurgence of cryptocurrency. The most delighted were individuals who had early buy-ins when the Trump coin was released 24 hours before his inauguration; crypto analysts have described the event as one of the most significant transfers of wealth the crypto world has witnessed. We keep our fingers crossed about what his presidency will bring; we had a taste of what he did in 2016; let’s see if he exceeds and outdoes himself. Nigeria has always been open to foreign relationships with the US, notwithstanding who the president is. The common thing in all the years is that it has been productive at every turn; although we cannot speculate on the area of productivity this time, we are sure there would be productivity.
