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Tinubu Approves N683bn Intervention Fund For Tertiary Institutions

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…. Varsities get N1.9bn, polytechnics N1.1bn, CoEs N1.3bn each

12th January 2024

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the sum of N683,429,268 billion as the 2024 Intervention Funds for public tertiary education institutions in the country.

The Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, disclosed this on Friday during the Fund’s strategic planning meeting with heads of beneficiary institutions in Abuja.

Echono said from the total, 90.75% was budgeted for direct disbursement and 8.94% for some designated special projects. A stabilization of 2.27% was allowed to enable the Fund to respond to emerging issues.

He also disclosed that each University shall get for the Year 2024 intervention cycle, the total sum of N1,906,944,930.00, each Polytechnic N1,165,355,235.00
while each College of Education shall get N1,398,426,282.00.

LEADERSHIP reports that this year’s intervention witnessed a boost as compared to last year, which saw the disbursement of over N320 billion.

It would be recalled that the 2023 intervention cycle saw each university receiving N1,154,732,133.00; Polytechnic – N699,344,867.00, while each College of Education got N800,862,602.

Echono said, “I am pleased to inform you that Mr. President has approved the Year 2024 disbursement guidelines in the total sum of N683,429,268,402.64. From this total, 90.75 % is budgeted for direct disbursement and 8.94 % for some designated special projects. A stabilization of 2.27 % is allowed to enable the Fund to respond to emerging issues.

“This is inclusive of the difference between actual collections and the projections made for November and December 2023 collections as requested and approved by Mr. President.

“Based on this approval:
Each university shall get, for the Year 2024 intervention cycle, the total sum of N1,906,944,930.00. This comprises N1,656,944,930.00 as annual direct disbursement and N250 million as zonal intervention. Similarly, each Polytechnic shall get N1,165,355,235.00 comprising of N1,015,355,235.00 as annual direct disbursement and N150million as zonal intervention, while each College of Education shall get N1,398,426,282.00 comprising of N1,248,426,282.00 as annual direct disbursement and N150million as zonal intervention.

“It is pertinent to note that this represents a very significant increase above our last year’s intervention and indeed every other year, since inception.

“This remarkable success is due to, sustained efforts at expanding and increasing the efficiency of collection of the Education Tax, and the gracious concurrence of Mr. President for an increase in the tax from 2.5% to 3.0% in the year 2023.

“We are grateful to all the key actors, notably the Minister of Education Prof. Tahir Mamman Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, the Chairmen and members of the Senate and House Committees on TETFund, and the Chairman Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) for their unwavering support, towards the sustainable improvement of the collection,” he said.

He further said the meeting was also an avenue to receive feedback and evaluate the performance of the intervention lines while calling on all heads of institutions to ensure the smooth, timely, judicious, and effective implementation and utilization of the year 2024 intervention allocation, to make the much-needed impact in the respective tertiary institutions.

“I also wish to advise that in addition to the broad-based budget and project monitoring committee stated in your letter of allocation, you should consult widely with the community in the implementation of your TETFund projects.

“Furthermore, Heads of Institutions should ensure timely payments to contractors and vendors when due this will enable the proper completion of projects and mitigate the incidence of contractors writing letters of complaints to the Fund.

“I seize this opportunity to respectfully register our debt of gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR for his commitment to the development of Education in his Renewed Hope agenda and to Prof. Tahir Mamman (SAN), for his leadership, trust, and prompt consideration of our requests,” he added.

According to Echono, the approved new intervention lines in the Annual Direct Disbursement include the establishment of Career Centers/Units in all categories of beneficiary institutions as well as the Institution Skills development for Polytechnics.

For the Special Direct Disbursements, he said it has increased the allocation for the Special High Impact Programme (SHIP), and the number of benefitting institutions has also been increased to two per geopolitical zone per category given a total of 36 beneficiary institutions.

Other areas of Special Direct Disbursement, he said, were provision for Hostels using the Public/Private Partnership arrangement, innovation hubs, Disaster Recovery, Security Infrastructure, Completion of abandoned projects, and many others.

“In our bid to resolve the problems arising from the increase in exchange rates to our scholars, we have made provisions in the Year 2024 intervention to address the shortfall therein.

“We have sustained allocations for research including the National Research Fund, Research, and Innovation Fund, Uptake of research findings to commercialization and supervision of scholars for Ph.D. research.

“We have made provisions for four central multipurpose laboratories and additional provision for the three agricultural laboratories and demonstration farms initiated in 2023,” he stated.

On his part, the acting Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Zubairu Abdullahi, said there was a new hope and commitment from the president that everyone must key into it.

He urged stakeholders to redouble efforts to achieve President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda for the education sector.

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Education

Tertiary Institutions to Exit IPPIS Payroll Platform, as Accountant-General Issues Guidelines

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By Elizabeth Okwe and Ojone Grace Odaudu 

In line with the long-standing agitations by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the federal government has rolled out guidelines for the removal of federal tertiary institutions from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

The IPPIS is a centralised payroll system the federal government introduced in 2006 to manage the salaries of public sector employees.

Administered by the office of the accountant-general, the platform had increasingly accommodated federal tertiary institutions by 2016.

It however became a subject of heated protests for many public tertiary institutions that alleged unilateral manipulation and fraud.

Administrators across universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education argued that its centralised nature eroded the powers of provosts and governing councils since the head of the civil service often had to determine what staffers were employed and when.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) proposed the Unified Treasury Accounting System (UTAS) proposed as an alternative.

Oluwatoyin Madein, the accountant-general of the federation, has now issued a circular effectively setting out a guideline for the removal of federal tertiary institutions from the IPPIS payroll platform.

The move, he said, was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for institutional autonomy and efficient payroll management.

The circular highlighted an exit strategy for the tertiary institutions and mandated that the affected institutions immediately comply.

Madein said the payroll for the public institutions will be processed by the IPPIS for October ahead of the exit in November 2024.

He said the institutions would now process the payrolls themselves while the IPPIS department of accountant-general’s office vets them.

The accountant-general said payment will be through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).

Madein said institutions must fill out and submit GIFMIS enrolment forms to personnel handling payroll-related roles before October 21.

He said the forms will grant access to the personnel cost budget line for each institution on the GIFMIS platform.

On outstanding financial obligations that have been the subject of protests, the circular instructed federal tertiary institutions to compile data on promotion/salary arrears and forward them to the budget office of the federation for onward further processing and resolution.

Madein said the bank details of the employees must be validated and uploaded on the GIFMIS platform within the specified timeframe.

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Education

Glisten Academy Felicitates with Muslims on Eld-el- Maulud

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* Emphasis on the need for selfless service, integrity and social justice

By Ojone Grace Odaudu

As Muslims in Nigeria join others all over the world to celebrate Eid-el-Maulud, the birthday of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the management of Glisten International Academy, Abuja has charged the people to reflect on his exemplary life of compassion, integrity and humility.

In a statement by the institution to felicitate with the Muslim community, the Academy said the ceremony will be more significant if the people strive to embody the values of patience, generosity and justice in the society.

The Eid-el-Maulud celebration, according to the statement, should remind the people of the importance of kindness, honesty and dedication to serving others selflessly.

Dr Samira Jibir
Proprietress, Glisten International Academy

“As we mark the birth of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), we reflect on his exemplary life of compassion, integrity, and humility. This occasion reminds us of the importance of kindness, honesty, and dedication to serving others. Let’s strive to embody the values of patience, generosity and justice in our communities”, the Academy wrote in its statement.

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Education

Pegging WASSCE/NECO Candidates’ Ages Detrimental to Children’s Development – NAPPS

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By Ojone Grace Odaudu

Proprietors of Private Schools have expressed concern over the Federal Government’s directive to peg the age of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO) candidates.

Alaka Lukman, Chairman of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Lagos Chapter, expressed this concern in an interview with the Newsmen in Lagos.

The Federal Government recently directed that candidates under the age of 18 years will no longer be allowed to sit for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and National Examination Council (NECO).

Lukman said that pegging the age limit for the candidates for the examinations would lead to delaying and denying some students access to higher education when they complete their secondary education.

Dr Samira Jibir
National President, NAPPS

“The policy of the government gives us room for concern. We believe that the government is only focusing on maturity of the students.

“But this is just one of the mental development of any human being.

“Maturity does not come by age alone. This policy can prove detrimental to brilliant students that finish secondary before they clock 18 years.

“Will they have to wait two years extra, before taking WAEC?

“There is need for the government to give the directive a second thought because it may not be the best for the system and can lead to frustration.

“The development can also lead to potential disparities in students’ educational outcomes, as not all students may have the same opportunities or resources to continue their education until they reach the age of 18.

“Our government should consider the mental health of our students, some are presently facing the pressure of how to quickly go through secondary school because of the financial position of their parents,” he added.

The NAPPS president suggested that the government should rather peg the entry age for students getting into university.

He said admission into university should not be for people at any age.

According to Lukman, the policy will breed teenagers with idle hands roaming about the streets, adding that this can prove detrimental, if an alternative way of engaging these teenagers is not provided.

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