By Felix Khanoba
The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has kicked against a new Federal Government’s policy requiring partially funded education institutions to remit 40 percent of their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to the FG’s coffers.
Recall that last week, the government said it would begin the implementation of a 40 percent automatic deduction from IGRs of federal universities and other partially-funded institutions.
According to the government, the policy is in line with a finance circular with reference number FMFBNP/OTHERS/IGR/CRF/12/2021 and dated December 20, 2021.
However, in a statement on Monday, Smart Olugbeko, president of COEASU, said the union received the directive with “enormous reservations”.
“Our union notes with enormous reservations the directive of the federal government that federal colleges of education should remit 40% of their internally generated revenues (IGR) to the federal treasury,” the statement reads.
“There is no basis to apply this directive to the colleges of education because revenues collected in the Colleges are meagre charges meant for the discharge of specific services.
“In other words, federal colleges of education do not generate IGR. What they charge are service charges for student identity cards, health clinic services, hostel maintenance, lab equipment, teaching practice, consumables, etc.
“It is necessary to note that the aforementioned charges cover government inefficiency as these services are not being funded by the government.”
The COEASU president said the federal government following its monetisation policy of 2003, stopped paying for outsourced services like cleaning, grass-cutting, facility maintenance, and security.
“The government only gives the federal colleges an average of N8 million monthly to run the colleges and this fund is not always made available as and when due, creating serious challenges in running the institutions,” he said.
“Apart from the fact that this fund is grossly inadequate, colleges of education are not elitist schools, and they are not patronized by wards of the high and mighty in society.
“They are schools for underprivileged but generally patriotic Nigerians who are ready to make the sacrifices to engender a positive change in the education sector.”
He added that the government would only be forcing college provosts to increase fees payable by “underprivileged” students and cause mass dropouts if it mandates colleges to remit 40 percent of their IGR into the national treasury.
“At a time when stakeholders are clamouring for increased funding of teacher education and scholarships for education students, the government is initiating a policy to turn colleges into revenue-generating centres,” he said.
“We expect the government to understand the implications of the inability of colleges to provide electricity, pipe-borne water, security, laboratory equipment and other relevant recurrent maintenance costs.
“This will lead to ineffective teaching and learning, and ultimately, student unrest. We believe some people hide somewhere, churning out obnoxious policies to make sure this country does not make progress.
“If not, how would a government that does not adequately fund tertiary institutions be expecting the same institutions to be transmuted into revenue-generated avenues for it?
The president of COEASU asked the federal government to exclude colleges of education from remitting 40 percent of their IGR.
“If the government goes ahead to implement this policy, parents will bear the consequences and many parents will withdraw their children from schools,” he said.
“We also call on the federal government to improve its funding of Colleges of Education as this is a constitutional obligation of social responsibility.”
