CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of study

Education is often seen as a vehicle for advancing a country's development goals, such as socioeconomic, political, and cultural liberation. Education is divided into three stages: primary, secondary, or post-primary, and tertiary. Tertiary education, which includes universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, is required to accelerate social transformation, economic sustainability, and human growth. University education in Nigeria, according to Ibukun in Ekundayo and Ajayi (2006), supplies much-needed manpower for all fields of human need. Among the expectations of university education, the Federal Government of Nigeria (2004) mentioned the following:

1.     contribute to the development of relevant manpower at the national level;

2.     Develop and instill adequate valves for the individual's and society's survival;

3.     To grasp and appreciate one's local and external environment, one must develop one's intellectual capability.

4.     Acquire physical and mental skills that enable individuals to be self-sufficient and helpful members of society;

5.     Promote and encourage community service and scholarship;

6.     Create and maintain national unity;

7.     Promote understanding and interaction on a national and worldwide level;

According to Edem (1987), university education can be seen in light of the provisions of the National Policy on Education.

1. Should be made available as a tool for broadening an individual's knowledge and fostering his full potential.

2. Assist him in completing certain tasks that are critical to his own surroundings.

Tertiary education is a consumer and a capital good, respectively, in economic terms. Continuing on universities, Edem (1987) sees them as a place where instruction and research in the arts and sciences are done at a higher level than in secondary schools, and where students are expected to do a lot of independent work. Because it influences other areas of the national economy, education is a prerequisite for national growth (Okebukola, 2002). As a result, the educational sector's neglect has ramifications in other areas of the country. According to Mgbekem (2006), the most significant difficulty facing the management of Nigeria's university system is a lack of financing. TETFund was established as an intervention agency under the TETFund ACT-Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Establishment Act, 2011-to address the problem of funding specifically tertiary education. The Act repeals the Education Tax Act Cap. E4, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and the Education Tax Fund Act No. 17, 2003, which were the enabling legal foundations for ETF (TETFund, 2017). Sponsorship of postgraduate professors, funding of building and refurbishing of educational facilities, promoting creative and innovative approaches to learning, provision of higher educational literature and funding of libraries, and provision of learning equipment are among its areas of action.

The TETFund was founded at a time when successive administrations had neglected the tertiary education sector for many years. It is "mandated to administer, manage, and disburse the 2 percent Education Tax collected from registered companies in Nigeria for the primary purpose of providing auxiliary support for the general improvement of education in public tertiary institutions," according to the guidelines for accessing TETFund intervention funds (TETFund, 2015, p.2). As a result, TETFund distributes cash to all Nigerian public tertiary institutions, whether at the federal, state, or local government level. All that is required of public tertiary institutions is to follow the requirements for obtaining money from TETFund by submitting a viable proposal (s) for the project they wish to carry out. This creates a slew of obstacles for fund managers as they attempt to address the sector's plethora of issues. Beneficiaries of the funding must put the money to good use by repairing, restoring, and consolidating educational infrastructure and facilities, as well as other learning resources such as manpower, libraries, and laboratories. Institutions that have previously benefited from the Fund must provide a good and credible account of previous support in order to be considered for additional funding. This is to assure the growth of the educational sector in Nigeria, with a particular concentration on public tertiary institutions (TETFund, 2015, p.2).

1.2 Statement Of Problem

Poor funding has caused a general decline in human and material resources in Nigerian academic institutions. The TETFUND is a project-based intervention organization that aims to aid university growth. The total abdication of responsibilities on the part of the state government, such that TETFUND is left with the burden of providing infrastructure for tertiary institutions, contradicts the philosophy of setting up TETFUND, which envisaged an intervention agency that would complement what the various tiers of government are doing, according to the Nigeria education report (2012). TETFUND distributes funding to beneficiaries related to specified projects, which the beneficiaries award under TETFUND's tight supervision. It should go without saying that TETFUND has a revenue equal to its assets.

1.3 Objective Of Study

The following are objectives of this study:

1. To examine the specific roles of TETFUND.

2. To determine if  TETFUND play a significant role in the rehabilitation and restoration of Tertiary education in Nigeria.

3. To examine if TETFUD play a significant role in the consolidation of Tertiary education in Nigeria.

1.4 Research Question

The following research question guides this study

1. What are the specific roles of TETFUND?

2. Does TETFUND play a significant role in the rehabilitation and restoration of Tertiary education in Nigeria.

3. Does TETFUD play a significant role in the consolidation of Tertiary education in Nigeria.

1.5 Significance Of Study

This study will be of significance as it concludes that TETFUND as an interventionist agency should be retained. It recommends that TETFUND allocation must be directed at projects and programmes that would add value to public tertiary education in Nigeria. On the one hand, TETFUND’S funding base should be further strengthened, and, on the other hand, TETFUND needs to put in more effort towards solving the number of problems at the public tertiary level in the country. This study will further add to the existing literature on this study domain and as well serve as a reference material for scholars, researchers, and students who may want to carry out further research on this topic or related area in the future.

1.6 Scope Of Study

This study focuses on examining the role of TETFUND in the rehabilitation,restoration and consolidation of Tertiary Education in Nigeria. The study will therefore be carried out in University of Nigeria, Nsuka, Enugu State.

1.7 Limitation Of Study

Finance,inadequate materials and time constraint were the challenges the researchers encountered during the course of the study.

1.8 Definition Of Terms

TET fund: Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is a body set up by the Federal Government of Nigeria ostensibly to arrest the rot and deterioration in the educational infrastructure occasioned by long period of neglect and very poor resource allocation.

Rehabilitation: The action of restoring something that has been damaged to its former condition.

Restoration: The action of returning something to a former owner, place, or condition.

Consolidation: The action or process of making something stronger or more solid.

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

INTRODUCTION

Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.

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