Private Institutions Want To Benefit From ETF Funds

Privately-owned institutions in the country have urged the Federal Government to allow them to benefit from the Educational Trust Fund (ETF) to improve their facilities.

They also want access to the fund to be able to expand their operations.

Mr Anselm Okwuosa, the Rector of Temple Gate Polytechnic, Aba, a private tertiary institution, made the call in Aba, Abia, on Tuesday during its second matriculation ceremony.

Okwuosa said that poor funding had been the greatest challenge facing private institutions in the country in improving the quality of learning.

He urged the Federal Government to re-visit the exclusion of privately-owned institutions from accessing the funding, stressing that ETF had done well in providing intervention funding to public institutions.

“Unfortunately, the government has excluded the private institutions from this intervention fund.

“We are saying that the government should re-visit the decision and allow private institutions to benefit from the ETF.

“All of us are tax payers and contributors to ETF. And the fact that your child is in a private school does not make the parents not to pay tax.

“So, they should find a modality to include private institutions.

“We are partnering the government to provide education for our people. So, if we are partnering and this exclusion is allowed, then it does not augur well for mutual benefit of the people,’’ Okwuosa said.

The rector said the public institutions were better funded, but in terms of monitoring of students and the balance sheets, the privately-owned institutions were doing well too.