The Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions has said there is the need for an increase in tertiary education tax from 2.5 to three per cent to improve research and development in the country.
The committee made this submission during an oversight visit to Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to ascertain the level of 2021/2022 performance of the budget.
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The committee chaired by Senator Ahmed Babba Kaita pointed out that education and health sectors were two critical sectors that drive development, hence the need for an upward review of the education tax.
It urged the agency to incorporate the National Mathematical Centre (NMC) in its interventions, saying no country could thrive in the area of research, science, technology, and innovation without embracing mathematics.
Kaita also urged TETFund to expedite efforts on providing an oxygen generator requested by Kaduna State Polytechnic during COVID-19 in 2020.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, said in 2021, the agency disbursed N213bn to tertiary institutions, including take-off grants for newly established institutions.
Responding to the request to provide the oxygen generator for Kaduna State Polytechnic, Echono explained that the fund had approved N50 million for the research and that half of the money had been paid.
