PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has authorized N683,429,268 billion as the 2024 intervention budget for the country’s public tertiary schools.
The Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, Sonny Echono, revealed yesterday during a strategic planning meeting with heads of beneficiary institutions in Abuja that 90.75 per cent of the total allocation is designated for direct disbursement, 8.94 per cent for specific special projects, and 2.27 per cent for addressing emerging issues.
He also stated the specific allocations for the Year 2024 intervention cycle, with universities receiving N1,906,944,930.00, polytechnics N1,165,355,235.00, and colleges of education N1,398,426,282.00.
The intervention fund aims to address the longstanding calls for improved funding of schools in Nigeria, as educators have frequently gone on strike to demand better pay and enhanced facilities.
Recall that in late 2022, university lecturers suspended an eight-month strike over these issues, marking the latest in a series of industrial disputes in the country. This strike was the second longest by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), following a nine-month strike in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. The lecturers’ demands have consistently centered around higher pay, improved welfare, increased funding, and upgraded facilities.
