TERTIARY EDUCATION TRUST
FUND
(TETFund)
GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS
FOR ACCESSING AND UTILIZATION
OF TETFund INTERVENTION FUND
JULY 2012
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
PAGES
1.
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................
3
2.
CONDITIONS FOR ENLISTING AS TERTIARYEDUCATION TRUST FUND BENEFICIARY ............
3.
SHARING FORMULAE FOR DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS TO BENEFICIARIES..........................
4
5
4.
GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESSING FUNDS FOR PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
AND PROVISION OF EQUIPMENT.............................................................
6
5.
ACADEMIC STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT (AST&D) PROGRAMME.......................
6.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESSING FUNDS FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT, INSTITUTION
BASED RESEARCH AND ACADEMIC MANUSCRIPT/BOOKS PUBLICATION...........................................
7.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESSING FUNDS FOR TEACHING PRACTICE, ENTREPRENEUSHIP
STUDY CENTERS AND JOURNAL PUBLICATION................................ 18
8.
REQUIRMENTS FOR ACCESSING FUNDS FOR ICT PROJECTS.................... 20
9.
10.
INTERNAL AUDIT CLEARANCE..............................................................
21
MONITORING OF PROJECTS..................................................................... 22
12
16
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) was established by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund
Act 2011 to administer and disburse to Federal and State tertiary educational institutions the 2%
education tax charged companies operating in Nigeria. Specifically, the beneficiaries of the Fund are
required by Law to apply the money for the provision or maintenance of:
a) Essential physical infrastructure for teaching and learning;
b) Instructional material and equipment;
c) Research and publication;
d) Academic staff training and development;
e) Any other need which, in the opinion of the Board of Trustees, is critical and essential for the
improvement of quality and maintenance of standards in the higher educational institutions.
1.2 The Board of Trustees of the Fund who are statutorily charged with the responsibility of
administering, managing and disbursement of the Education Fund have approved Guidelines for
accessing and utilizing the Fund, which all beneficiaries are required to comply with. This is aimed at
ensuring a purposeful and judicious utilization of the intervention Fund. Beneficiaries of the intervention
Fund are therefore enjoined to familiarize themselves with these guidelines as non-compliance could
lead to delays in accessing the Fund.
CHAPTER 2
SHARING FORMULAE FOR DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS TO BENEFICIARIES
2.1 Section 7(2) of the TETFund Act provides that the Board of Trustees shall administer, manage and
disburse the education tax on the basis of a) funding of all public tertiary educational institutions;
b) equality among the 6 geo-political zones of the Federation in case of special intervention ; and
c) equality among the states of the Federation in the case of regular intervention.
2.2 The distribution of funds among the public tertiary institutions shall be in the ratio of 2:1:1 as
between Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education.
2.3 The Board of Trustees is also empowered under the Act to give due consideration to the peculiarities
of each geopolitical zone in the disbursement and management of the tax between the various levels of
education.
2.4 In view of the above , the Board of Trustees have approved that in distributing the tax, a State with
more than one University, Polytechnic and Colleges of Education shall in each intervention year decide
and communicate to the Fund, the institution under this categories that should benefit from the Fund.
This is to ensure fairness and equality in the disbursement of funds to the institutions.
CHAPTER 3
CONDITIONS FOR ENLISTING AS TERTIARY EDUCATION TRUST FUND BENEFICIARY
3.1 The conditions for enlistment as a beneficiary of the Fund are as follows:
(i) Request by the University/Polytechnic/College of Education to TETFund for enlistment;
(ii) Must be a public University/Polytechnic/College of Education i.e Federal/State;
(iii)Must have a law establishing the institution;
(iv)Evidence of recognition by the Regulatory Agency;
(v) Commencement of Academic Activities; and
(vi)Verification of Academic activities by TETFund Staff
CHAPTER 4
GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESSING FUNDS FOR PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND
PROVISION OF EQUIPMENT
4.1 To access allocated funds for the above, two (2) major stages are involved viz;
a) Obtaining Approval-in-Principle(AIP) for projects; and
b) Post AIP stage, which leads to access of Funds.
4.2 The guidelines are as follows:
4.2.1
For Construction Related Projects
(i) Detailed Design Drawings Comprising Architecture and all Engineering drawings structural, Electrical
and Mechanical;
(ii) Evidence of Soil Test, especially for High-rise structures and for buildings to be constructed in difficult
or aquatic terrain;
(iii) For Rehabilitation/Renovation projects, photographs showing the current state of dilapidation and
schedule of dilapidation shall be required;
(iv) Well Priced Bills of Quantities, devoid of Prime Cost (P.C.) sums and Provisional Sums – all must be
measured and priced. The BOQ must also be related to the design drawings –quantities must be derived
from the design drawings; and
(v) Where Consultants are engaged to prepare the design drawings and such are to be remunerated
from the TETFund funds, the letters engaging such Consultants should be included in the submission to
the Fund, including their fee breakdown.
4.2.2 For Procurement-Related Projects
The following are required:
i. Inventory of items to be procured;
ii. Genuine Proforma Invoices supporting the items to be procured;
iii. Manufacturer’s Catalogue/Brochure of specifications, especially for high caliber or high costing
equipment;
iv. Sample photographs showing the items due for purchase;
v. For items of furniture – sample photographs or sketch with dimensions;
vi. Where necessary, installation requirements; and
vii. Non-inclusion of consumables.
4.2.3 Project Vetting
In order to determine the adequacy or otherwise of the submission to merit a recommendation for
release of funds, the following will serve as guide:
(a) Architecture
i. Master Plan Layout (especially for Universities), showing the proposed location of the project;
ii. Site Plan, showing proposed block, access road network;
iii. Working Drawing Floor Plans, showing finishes specification; and
iv. Section drawings, taken through relevant areas and showing finishes specifications;
(a) Roof Plan;
(b) Elevations;
(c) Schedule of Doors & Windows, especially for large schemes;
(d) Check for incorporation of expansion joints for buildings exceeding 30m in length;
(e) Specifications and Painting schedules;
(f) Architect’s seal on the drawings; and
(g) Inclusion of copy of Practice Licence
(b) Structural Engineering
i. Foundation Plan;
ii. Structural Design of columns, their bases with reinforcement details,Ditto for beams & lintels;
iii. Staircase reinforcement details (where applicable);
iv. Structural design of floor slab; and
v. Detailed Structural Design/specification of Steel roof structure
vi. Bending schedule (where necessary);
vii. Calculation sheets, duly endorsed by a registered engineer with affixed seal;
viii. Culvert Design for external works;
ix. Drainage system showing peaks and slope directions with gradient; and
Professional seal on drawings
SERVICES ENGINEERING (especially for large, extensive schemes)
(c) Electrical Designs
i. Lighting Points Design;
ii. Socket outlet design;
iii. Load Analysis;
iv. General Schematic Distribution diagram;
v. General External Lightning designs of the site; and
vi. Professional seal on drawings
(d) Mechanical Designs
i. Site Plan showing soil waste drainage system;
ii. Layout showing water supply;
iii. Waste disposal system;
iv. Septic tank/ Soak away pit design; and
v. Professional seal on drawings
(e) Quantity Surveying / Bill of Quantities (BOQ)
i. Use of Standard Method of Measurement (SMM) which should be presented in Excel format.
Hand-written entries are not allowed;
ii. Ensure Clarity of works description in the bill and bills should harmonise with specifications and
quantities in the design drawings; 9
iii. Elements whose quantities are numeric in nature could be confirmed from the drawing to
ascertain the accuracy of its measurement; and
iv. Preliminaries should be broken down in detail;
v. Rates of works must be realistic and consistent all through;
vi. Rates must be related to geo-political zones, as prices are known to vary from place to place for
several reasons, especially terrain. For Bayelsa and Rivers for instance, item rates would not be same as
in Niger and Ekiti;
vii. Only VAT, Preliminaries and Contingencies are allowed; no State Taxes are admissible in
TETFund Project cost build-up; and
viii. Ensure PC and PS sums are priced, especially where the values are high to avoid project
implementation complications.
4.3 POST AIP STAGE AND REQUIREMENTS FOR DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS
Funds disbursement is done after the AIP has been obtained and Due Process requirements have
been carried out satisfactorily. For Construction-related projects, disbursements are in 3 (three)
tranches of 50%, 35% & 15% and 2 (two) tranches of 85% & 15% for Procurement-related projects. The
due process leads to accessing the 1st tranche of funds and must be carried out in line with the
provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007.
4.3.1 DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESSING THE IST TRANCHE OF FUNDS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
(a)Advertisement
This is the first thing to do after obtaining AIP. The requirements are as follows:
i. Advert must be on at least two (2) National Newspapers, and the Federal Tenders Journal;
ii. Advertisement must state criteria/conditions for which interested persons would qualify for
prequalification; and
iii. Evidence of observance (copy of Advertisement) must be submitted to the Fund.10
(b)Pre-Qualification
This is the stage where criteria for evaluating the Technical and Financial capacities of Expressers of
Interest (E.O.I) are carried out. The requirements are:
All pre-qualified Firms are to be issued Tender documents formally;
The Pre-qualification exercise should weed out Technically unqualified and likely problematic
contractors, who may be in receivership, are insolvent, etc (as in the PPA 2007 document); and
Evidence of Pre-Qualification exercise must be submitted to the Fund alongside other documents
(c) Tender Action
i. Invitation to Tender, which should state closing date and time. Copies of letters issued to PreQualified
bidders should be submitted to the Fund;
ii. Opening of Tenders – TETFund must be notified and invited to witness; and
iii. Attendance of all those present must be taken in their own handwriting and signed accordingly by
each attendee, with indication of the organization they represent and their contact phone
numbers & e-mail addresses. A copy of the attendance record must be submitted along with
other documents to the ETF in raw form.
(d)Bid Evaluation
i. All bids so accepted shall be evaluated and analyzed against certain defined parameters to decide
the most responsive and best evaluated tender (not least tender);
ii. The Tenders Board of the procurement entity must make recommendations on those best
evaluated for the jobs;
iii. In cases where cost thresholds are exceeded beyond the approval limit of the beneficiary, a higher
approval must be sought – i.e, Ministerial Tenders Board (MTB) or the Federal Executive
Council (FEC), depending on the project cost; and
iv. Copy of Minutes of meeting of the various bodies must be submitted to the Fund for vetting.
(e)Letter of Commitment
This is required from all beneficiaries. The letter of commitment is an undertaking from the beneficiary
to immediately commence the project execution on receipt of the 1st tranche of funds. It is done to
discourage the practice of keeping money in fixed facility over a period before commencing the project.
The Fund does not approve of this practice.
4.4 REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESSING THE 2ND AND FINAL TRANCHES
4.1 To access the 2nd
Tranche, beneficiaries must show physical proofs by way of photographs, that the funds released in the
1sttranche have been fully utilized. For a project that is granted say, 50% release at first tranche, the
physical progress must not be less than 50% to qualify for the 2ndrelease. This will be verified by
Officers of the Fund during Project Monitoring. Beneficiaries must communicate the Fund for project
monitoring and such communication must be accompanied by the following financial renditions in two
(2) copies, with a bound copy addressed to the Internal Audit Unit (IAU) of the Fund through the
Executive Secretary.
4.4.1 To obtain Audit Clearance for release of funds the following are required:
i. Photographs of the on-going projects
ii Payment Vouchers (PVs)
iii. Financial Report
iv. Expenditure on Projects
v. Bank Statement of Account
vi. Bank Reconciliation Statement
vii. Progress Report on ETF Form
viii. Store Receipt Vouchers (where applicable in the case of procurement projects)
ix. Copies of Valuation/Payment Certificates as issued by the Consultants (where applicable)
4.5 Requirements for release of Final Tranche
3.5.1 To qualify for release of the Final Tranche, all the above listed documentations from (i) to (ix)
shall as well be required but the projects must be shown as fully completed in the photographs and
inscribed with the TETFund insignia and Year of Intervention. Projects not inscribed will not be
approved for the final release.
CHAPTER 5
ACADEMIC STAFF TRAINING DEVELOPMENT ( AST & D) PROGRAMME
5.1 The following are the eligibility, mode of sponsorship, mode of disbursement of Funds and
requirements for accessing funds for this programme:
5.1.1 Eligibility for the Programme
To be eligible for the programme, the beneficiaries must have met the following conditions:
a) Be nominated by the beneficiaries institutions through the institution’s AST & D Committee or Staff
Development Committee as the case may be;
b) Completed TETFund AST &D Nomination Form duly signed by the Head of Department, Dean of
Faculty and the Vice Chancellor or Rector or Provost of the Beneficiary institution;
c) current Admission Letter [with cost implication, if the programme is tenable in foreign
Universities/Institutions];
d) Submitted his/her Curriculum Vitae;
e) Submitted a duly completed signed and stamped Bond Form with the beneficiary institution where
he/she is teaching; and
f) Submitted his/her Bank Details i.e official salary pay point.
5.1.2 Mode of Sponsorship
The mode of sponsorship and current worth of the scholarship (in N) for the respective
programmes as approved by the Board of Trustees are as follows:
a) Ph.D Science (Local) Programme N1,500,000.00 for 3-Years at the rate of N500,000 per
year;
b) Ph.D Arts (Local) Programme N1,050,000.00 for 3-Years at the rate of N350,000 per year;
c) Masters Science (Local) Programme N700,000.00 for 3-Years at the rate of N350,000 per year;
d) Masters Arts (Local) Programme N500,000.00 for 2-Years at the rate of N250,000 per year;
and
e) All Foreign Programmes enjoy full sponsorship as follows:- Foreign sponsorship includes Tuition Fees,
Bench Fees, Living Expenses, Health Insurance and Passages;
confirmation from the
Foreign Universities where the AST & D Scholars are studying; and Foreign Programmes include Science,
engineering and Technology-based courses, Bench Work and Arts/Social Science-based Courses that are
not tenable in any Nigerian Institution/University but are critical to the development of any segment of
the Nigerian economy.
f) Foreign masters is for a maximum period of 18-month i.e 11/2years;
g) Foreign PhDs is for maximum period of 31/2 years; and
h) Bench Work period, ranges from 3-months to maximum of 1 year.
5.2 Mode of Disbursement of Funds to the Scholars
i. Approved funds for the beneficiaries are released enblock to the Beneficiary institutions’
TETFund dedicated accounts. The beneficiary institutions are advised to open domiciliary account (for
foreign programmes) and lodge these monies. This is cushion the effect of programmes) and lodge
these monies. The released funds are to be disbursed on annual basis to the scholars on receipt of the
scholars’ progress reports; and
i. First Disbursement to the approved Scholars by the beneficiary institutions should not be
more than Three (3) weeks of receipt/release of fund from TETFund.
5.2.1 Documentation Requirements
The following documentation is required for accessing the AST & D funds:
a) List of Beneficiaries via completed TETFund institution Personnel Nomination Forms i.e
TETFund/NOM-SDT/FORM BAS;14
b) Completed staff i.e TETF/IPD-SDT/FORM as and TETF/IPD-SDT/FORM;
c) Outline of the areas of training of each of the AST & D candidates;
d) Name of institution/venue where the training is tenable;
e) Date(s) period and Duration of the training (s);
f) Detailed Cost estimates for the training for the respective Candidates including cost implication
per candidate per year especially for foreign programmes;
g) Letter (s) of Admission of the respective nominated candidates/staff [i.e current and/or validated
admission;
h) Candidates course status i.e Extent of implementation [i.e for returning students] certified by the
Registrar of the Institution where the programme/course is being run; and
i) Evidence of Admission Acceptance for Bench Work – i.e short Research-based training towards
the completion of an on-going ( local) Ph.D programme. This enables opportunity of using state
of run in Nigeria. Bench Work establishes and consolidates institutional linkages between world
class foreign Universities and Nigeria.
5.3 REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESSING FUNDS FOR CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE
5.3.1 TETFund also sponsors both Academic and Non-Academic staff to attend conferences. The
requirements are as follows:
i. Documentary evidences of the Conference(s) to attend;15
ii. Conference Date/Duration;
iii. Completed TETFUND Institution Personnel Data Forms for Academic and Non-Academic
staff i.e. ETF/IPD-CA/FORM AS and ETF/IPD-CA/FORM NAS;
iv. Department/Unit of Staff/Conference Attendee indicating academic and non-academic
categories; and
v. State respective budget/cost implication for each potential beneficiary.
CHAPTER 6
REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESSING FUNDS FOR LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT, INSTITUTION BASED RESEARCH
AND ACADEMIC MANUSCRIPTS/ BOOKS PUBLICATION
6.1 LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT
i. List of proposed Books and Journals stating the Author, Publisher, Year of Publication,
Quantity, Unit Cost and Amount;
ii. List of Equipments stating Manufacturer, Specifications, Unit Cost and Total Amount;
iii. Genuine proforma invoice from reputable sources including sample photographs of such
equipments;
iv. For furniture related procurements, catalogues/photographs of the type of furniture and
type of wood to be used;
v. For high calibre equipments, the submission should be accompanied with manufacturer’s
technical brochure of specification, stating the make, model and year of manufacture being
supported with photographs;
vi. Utilization of at least 50% of Allocation for the procurement of Books and Journals; and
vii. Executive Summary of the Proposal.
6.2 INSTITUTIONS BASED RESEARCH
6.2.1 To access funds for institutions based research the following documentation is required:
i. Covering Letter (Request for Approval of Proposals);
ii. Executive Summary (Research Outline, Synopsis and Statement of Problem/Challenge)
iii. Minutes of meeting of Institutions Committee on Research;17
iv. Evidence of Approval of Proposed Research Project by the Committee;
v. Detailed Profile of Researchers;
vi. Time Table (Indicating Commencement and Expected Date of Termination of Research
Work);
vii. Cost Estimates for Development of Abstract (Field Work, Report Writing, Conferences,
Publications in relevant Journals);and
viii. Cost Estimates of other Research Materials.
6.3 ACADEMIC MANUSCRIPT/BOOKS (AMB) DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTION
PROJECT
6.3.1 The requirements for accessing funds for the above-mentioned project are as follows:
i. Covering Letter;
ii. Executive Summary (Synopsis and Titles of proposed publications/Books);
iii. Minutes of meetings of the Institution’s committee of Authors/ Publication;
iv. Completed Author(s) profile (photo) form; and
v. C.V’s of Author(s)/ contributors of Manuscripts.18
CHAPTER 7
REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESSING FUNDS FOR TEACHING PRACTICE, ENTREPRENEURSHIP STUDY
CENTERS AND JOURNAL PUBLICATION
7.1 TEACHING PRACTICE
The requirements for accessing the teaching practice intervention fund is as follows:
i. Schedule indicating dates /periods and duration of teaching practice supervision for the
Intervention Year;
ii. Names, rank and department of Academic Staff to be involved in the supervision;
iii. Names of Schools/venue where the supervision is taking place;
iv. Detailed cost implication per supervision during the period of supervision;
v. Completed TETFund personnel nomination forms;
vi. Detailed cost implication for the establishment or improvement of the mini teaching
laboratory; and
vii. Executive Summary of the submission.
7.2 ENTREPRENEURSHIP STUDY CENTER (ESC)
The requirements for accessing funds for the establishment of Entrepreneurship study centers are as
follows:
i. Covering Letter;
ii. Executive Summary;
iii. Detailed Architectural and Engineering design working drawings, duly prepared and sealed
by a qualified professional in that field;19
iv. Adequately measured and priced bills of quantities in standard method of measurement
(SMM), typed and bound;
v. Photographs of existing structure if it is renovation work;
vi. Where the beneficiary engages consultants and remuneration is to be drawn from the
beneficiary’s allocation, a copy of the letter of commissioning and acceptance of the
consultants should be included in the submission;
vii. For equipment purchase, detailed list and specification of equipments to be purchased;
viii. Genuine proforma invoice from reputable sources including sample photographs of such
equipments;
ix. For furniture related procurements, catalogues/photographs of the type of furniture and
type of wood to be used; and
x. For high caliber equipments, the submission should be accompanied with manufacturer’s
technical brochure of specification, stating the make, model and year of manufacture being
supported with photographs.
7.3 JOURNAL PUBLICATION
For Journal Publication intervention, the requirements are as follows:
i. Submission of all relevant and associated documentary evidences;
ii. Submission of a comprehensive proposal of what and how the institution intends to
realize as well as the goals and targets including cost implication and budget breakdown;
and
iii. It is to be emphasized that in all the transactions, the allocated and disbursed Funds are
to be lodged in to TETFund dedicated Account for record and monitoring purposes. CHAPTER 8
GUIDELINES FOR ACCESSING FUNDS FOR ICT PROJECTS
8.1
The requirements for accessing funds for ICT projects are as follows:
i. For proposals that involve procurement of desktops, laptops and servers, the quotations should
contain Hewlett Packard (HP) and DELL branded systems only. Cloned systems will not be approved
whenever such proposals are vetted. In addition to this, the operating systems for the desktops and
laptops should be Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate. Kindly note that Windows 7 Premium
and Windows 7 Basic will not be acceptable as the operating system for systems to be procured (Please
note that these operating systems are for home use);
ii. For a proposal that has to do with internet access, the bandwidth subscription should be for a
minimum of 1 year;
iii. For proposals that involve procurement of desktops, it is essential that UPS are included except in
cases where the institution has UPS on ground to back up the desktops;
iv. For proposals that involve deployment of e-library, the software to be procured should be detailed
and references of where the software is in use should be included; and
v. The detailed breakdown (model of any product) of all items to be procured should be clearly defined
in the proposals to avoid delays in the vetting process.
CHAPTER 9
INTERNAL AUDIT CLEARANCE
9.1 The Audit Unit duties in the processing of Beneficiaries payments after 1st tranche actually start from
request by the Beneficiaries for 2nd and final tranches. However, The following are basic requirements of
the Unit for the processing of 2nd and 3rd tranche disbursements for beneficiaries:
(i) Dedicated Bank Statement solely for TETFUND showing evidence of all lodgements and all payments
there from, essentially for project being retired i.e. normal Intervention, library Intervention, High mpact
or BOT projects as the case may be;
(ii) e-Payment schedules in line with Federal Government policy;
(iii) Payment Vouchers with supporting documents such as necessary approvals by the authorities of the
benefitting Institutions, advance payment Guarantees, contract agreements, receipts from payees, etc;
(iv) Evidence of deduction and remission of taxes to the relevant revenue bodies;
(v) Copies of Store Receipt Vouchers and Store Issue Vouchers and Invoices for items procured;
(vi) Returns on Expenditure form (Form No. TETF/DF/IAU/FR/02);
(vii) Financial Returns from (Form No. TETF/DF/IAU/FR/01);
(viii) General overall progress of work achieved by the Beneficiary on the initial release which shall be
determined by comparing the amount disbursed to payments made to the
Beneficiaries contractors; and
(ix) Where Funds have been utilized for items outside the approved projects or any of the above
documents is not made available, audit clearance for further disbursements will not be issued.22
CHAPTER 10
MONITORING OF PROJECTS
10.1 The Fund is required by Law to monitor and evaluate execution of projects for which intervention
funds have been provided to beneficiaries. The following are some of the strategies put in place
for monitoring the utilisation of TETFUND funds:
i. Regular routine and ad hoc monitoring and evaluation by staff, Board of Trustees and other
stakeholders such as Committee of Education of both the Senate and House of
Representatives, NGO’S, National Planning Commission e.t.c; and
ii. Special financial audits by Audit Consultants appointed by the Fund as well as by the
Fund’s retained External Auditors to examine the accounts opened by beneficiaries for
TETFUND intervention funds.