The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), has once again asked the Federal Government to exclude tertiary institutions from its list of agencies pencilled down for automatic deductions from their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
President of ASUP, Shammah Kpanja in a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, reiterated that tertiary institutions in Nigeria do not generate revenues rather, they struggle to survive and run the institutions from the meagre funds gotten from the charges levelled on students.
Kpanja expressed disappointment and worry that another circular quoting 50 per cent deductions was sent to heads of tertiary institutions by the Ministry of Finance after President Ahmed Bola Tinubu had suspended heads of tertiary institutions from the first directive which quoted 40 per cent.
Recall that most of the tertiary-based unions had warned that should the deductions be effected, students and parents would bear the brunt as all charges would further be increased.
We are therefore calling for the exclusion of tertiary institutions in general and Polytechnics in particular from this circular. This call is borne from the need to save the institutions and Polytechnics in particular from foreseen capitulation with its severe ripple effect and consequences on staff, students and society at large
He said: “Our Union’s attention has been drawn to the finance circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance on the 28th of December, 2023 conveying implementation of “Presidential Directives on 50% Automatic Deduction from Internally Generated Revenue of Federal Government Owned Enterprises”.
This circular is similar to the one issued in October 2023 where the Federal Government conveyed its plans to commence the deduction of 40% of the “Internally Generated Revenue of partially funded federal government institutions”.
“Both circulars included heads of tertiary institutions established and owned by the Federal Government in the distribution implying that the Federal Tertiary Institutions are included in the Federal Government’s classification of revenue-generating agencies/agents of the government. We are equally aware that following the outcry from the nation, the President directed a suspension of the policy in Federal Tertiary Institutions.
“We are therefore surprised and worried that the Federal Ministry of Finance is issuing yet another circular to this effect presumably overriding the Presidential directive on the issue as there are no reports yet indicating that the President has lifted the suspension.
At the heart of our Union’s worry is the continued classification of these tertiary institutions as Revenue Generating Agencies/Agents of the Federal Government.
“We view this an embarrassingly poor understanding of the workings and indeed the well-documented deplorable funding status of these tertiary institutions by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
“For the records and the umpteenth time, tuition fees are forbidden in the nation’s tertiary institutions as a policy of the government. These institutions survive on the meagre allocations for capital, overhead and personnel costs from the government with support from interventionist agencies like the Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
“The fees charged by these institutions which are currently and erroneously tagged as IGR are charged for specific services to students.
We are indeed worried by this unwelcome end-of-the-year “gift” by the Federal Ministry of Finance as same is a clear invitation to anarchy in these tertiary institutions. As a matter of fact, no Polytechnic in the country can survive with this poorly thought-out policy of classifying tertiary institutions as revenue-generating agencies.
“We are therefore calling for the exclusion of tertiary institutions in general and Polytechnics in particular from this circular. This call is borne from the need to save the institutions and Polytechnics in particular from foreseen capitulation with its severe ripple effect and consequences on staff, students and society at large.
“The Federal Government should rather devise means of increasing funding to these tertiary institutions as they should be treated as part of the social service sectors in dire need of resuscitation and stability.”
