The Federal Government has given approval for an upward review of Education Tax from two per cent to 2.5 per cent.
Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) Sonny Echono spoke at the weekend when he received Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong at the headquarters of TETFUND in Abuja.
He said this would enable TETFUND to cope with the increasing demands on the agency.
Echono said with the support of the Federal Government, TETFUND planned to reinforce the huge investments in the 13 new universities to fast track their rate of progress, with a view to achieving the purpose of establishing them.
He hoped that the education tax would likely increase to three per cent as the government harnessed educational investment.
This investment, Echono stressed, would go into expanding the frontiers of education and the way education was structured in the country.
He said: “The increased tax will facilitate the implementation of more developmental projects in the education sector.”
Echono urged tertiary institutions to produce entrepreneurs and not just graduates.
The executive secretary said this would help reduce unemployment and tackle socio-economic problems.
The TETFUND boss said one of his primary goals was to make tertiary institutions a place to produce entrepreneurs.
He praised the support by Governor Lalong, pledging continued commitment to the development of tertiary education in the state.
Lalong hailed the agency for the projects dotting tertiary institutions in Plateau State, saying TETFUND had become a lifeline for the schools.
He sought the continuity of the good work by the Fund, expressing his appreciation for its contributions to the development of education in the state and the North at large.