The Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund), Sunny Echono has re-emphasized on the need to increase the drive in Education Tax (EDT) collection to enable the fund meet its commitment to development of the Nigeria’s tertiary education.
Mr. Echono made this known in Lagos during the 2022 TETfund/Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) interactive forum which was organized to chart the ways forward for the growth of education in Nigeria.
He pointed out that the decline in Education Tax Collection which dipped from 189 billion Naira to 16 Billion Naira in 2021 poses a serious challenge to the intervention activities of the fund for the year 2022 hence the need for more drive.
“There was a sharp drop in revenue last year by over ssixty-eight billion naira. That has a negative impact on some of the things we would have loved to do,” he stated.
Commenting on the prospect of tertiary education for the years ahead, Mr. Echono expressed hope that there will be an improved revenue generation of about five hundred-billion-naira yearly EDT collection by 2025.
His projection was on the backdrop of the education tax collection report from the FIRS which recorded over three hundred and nine billion naira in September this year exceeding the three hundred and five billion naira set target by the Federal Inland Revenue Service for the year 2022.
”The enhanced revenue has afforded us the opportunity to deepen and expand our interventions. It will also help us to achieve our already set goal of attaining a five hundred-billion-naira yearly EDT Collection by 2025,” he added.
On his part, the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Muhammad Nami said that the deployment of technology has helped in enhancing the compliance and collection of taxes from taxpayers especially the introduction of Taxpromax.
“It’s very difficult now for any taxpayers to escape FIRS net because I will sit down in my office and with the press of button, I will be able to know the transaction in a particular customer’s account. The obligation to pay tax is sacrosanct. It is the only thing that qualifies you as a citizen of a country,” he emphasized.
He assured of a continued support to TETFund to ensure that tertiary institutions in Nigeria are sustained and improved by all stakeholders.
Some of the participants including the Rector Yaba College of Technology, Femi Omokugbe and a lecturer, Josiah Pelemo called on the government to increase the budget for the education sector and also help to set up a good mechanism of Education Tax Collection to enable them raise enough fund to support the country’s educational system.
The interactive forum which was attended by the stakeholders and experts in the education sector had as theme ‘Boosting Education Tax Collection for The Growth and Advancement of Tertiary Education in Nigeria.
