The House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill seeking to amend the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) Act to include Nigeria’s Inter-University Centres as beneficiaries of the education tax imposed under the Act.
Titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act, No.16, 2011 to Provide for the Inclusion of Inter–University Centres among Beneficiaries of the Tax Imposed under the Act; and for Related Matters (HB.1754),” the proposed legislation is sponsored by Deputy Speaker Hon. Benjamin Kalu and eight other lawmakers.
Institutions expected to benefit from the amendment include the National Mathematical Centre (NMC), Abuja; the National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), Aba, Abia State; the Nigerian French Language Village (NFLV), Badagry, Lagos State; and the National Arabic Language Village, Ngala, Borno State.
Leading the debate on the bill’s general principles, one of the co-sponsors, Hon. Tolani Shagaya, emphasised that the TETFund was established to provide supplementary support for the development of public tertiary institutions in Nigeria. He noted that while the fund has played a critical role in strengthening infrastructure, equipping classrooms, and supporting research across universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, Inter-University Centres have been excluded from its benefits.
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“These centres, established by Acts of the National Assembly, play a unique and indispensable role in advancing higher education by filling critical academic, linguistic, and research gaps. Yet, they currently receive no financial support from TETFund despite directly contributing to the university system the fund is meant to support,” Shagaya said.
He described the exclusion as a matter of inequity and called for corrective action through legislative amendment. “This is not just a matter of necessity; it is one of equity, inclusion, and academic relevance,” he added.
According to Shagaya, the bill proposes key amendments to sections 4, 7, and 20 of the Principal Act to officially recognise Inter-University Centres, establish a funding allocation formula (2:1:1:1), and define the centres under the Act. He clarified that the proposed sharing ratio could be revised during the committee stage following stakeholder input.
“These centres support the entire university ecosystem through centralised expertise, advanced research, and national-level language training. Their exclusion has left them underfunded, under-equipped, and undervalued,” he said.
The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the session, put the bill to a voice vote, after which it was passed and referred to the Committee on TETFUND for further legislative action.
