ASUU President Calls for Proper Management of TETFund Grants and Punishment for Misappropriation

 

The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, has called for the proper utilization and management of the grant given to institutions by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). According to him, any vice-chancellor who misappropriates such funds deserves to be held accountable and jailed.

Osodeke has urged the Federal Government to set up a panel to investigate the utilization of TETFund grants and to punish those who have mismanaged the funds. He cited several instances of TETFund-funded projects being implemented late due to the lack of proper management of the funds.

The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, recently announced that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had approved N320bn as the 2023 intervention fund for public tertiary education institutions. Each public university will receive N1,154,732,133.00, each polytechnic will receive N699,344,867.00, and N800,862,602 will go to each college of education.

Osodeke has emphasized that the responsibility for the proper management of the TETFund grants lies with the vice-chancellors of the institutions. He urged TETFund to ensure the proper disbursement of the funds and to retire old funds before new ones are accessed. He believes that the intervention fund will have a significant impact on the education sector if it is well-monitored and disbursed.

ASUU has been advocating for the proper management of education funds for some time. The union believes that a panel should be set up to investigate the use of education funds in all institutions to ensure accountability and transparency. With proper management, ASUU believes that the education sector can achieve significant growth and development.