TETFUND and FIRS officials during the interactive session in Port Harcourt

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

The Tertiary Education Fund, TETFUND, has challenged Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS to generate N500 billion for it 2021 while also ensuring that the N277 billion target for 2020 is achieved.

Chairman of and Board of Trustees of TETFUND, Mallam Kashim Ibrahim Imam, gave the challenge during the TETFUND and FIRS interactive session in Port Harcourt.

Kashim noted that collaboration between TETFUND and FIRS has greatly ensured that education intervention funds for development and research in tertiary institutions are generated through adequate tax collections from companies and individuals.

He added that the funds have enabled TETFUND to finance most of the projects and researches in federal and state owned tertiary institutions across the country.

“Since TETFUND came into existence in 2011, almost all the projects in tertiary institutions across the country had been executed through the intervention from the agency.”

Imam said TETFUND has executed 75 projects in the University of Lagos, 68 in Lagos State University, LASU and 68 in University of Port Harcourt for example.

In an exclusive interview with our correspondent, the Acting Vice Chancellor of UNIPORT, Prof. Stephen Okorodudu corroborated what the chairman of TETFUND BOT said.

“I can testify that 68 projects have been completed and some still ongoing are funded through the intervention by TETFUND”.

However, Prof. Okorodudu advocated that TETFUND should include the sponsorship of indigent students who now find it difficult to fund their education in its programmes.

“As Managers of the System, we also have slot of indigent students who find it difficult to fund their tertiary education. TETFUND should have a way of factoring how they could support them.”

On his part, Dr Emmanuel Ikenyiri, Provost Federal College of Education, Omoku, Rivers State, said all the halls, Offices in his institution were built by TETFUND.

“In addition to the different projects and facilities fund by TETFUND intervention, two of my lecturers are beneficiaries of local and International scholarship. But they should factor in the sponsorship of indigent students.”

The annual one-day interactive session of TETFUND and FIRS which had the theme: “New Thrust in Expanding The EDT Collection During Covid-19 Pandemic for Effective Service Delivery of The Mandate of The Fund”, was attended by stakeholders in tertiary institutions and Federal Inland Revenue Service”.