Over 137 of the trust fund’s sponsored students who went abroad, according to the executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, vanished.
When Echono went before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc committee on Tuesday to discuss the alleged mismanagement of N2.3 trillion in tertiary education tax by TETFund, Echono made a statement.
He emphasized that after completing their programs, the TETFund-sponsored scholars who were sent abroad for “higher education” had refused to come back.
“Some of the sponsored scholars, unpatriotically when they go, enjoy our scholarship, earn a higher degree, then refuse to return, it has become a major crisis,” the executive secretary stated.
“The scholarship demands that you return. You must have a guarantor, who frequently experiences excessive hardship because, in the event of your disappearance, we hold them responsible for paying all expenses incurred on your behalf.
In order for Nigerians to benefit from the experience of people who refuse to return to the country, Echono stated that TETFund is collaborating with partners to take “stringent and effective measures” against them.
“We believe that in a system where we work with our embassies and the institutions, we can enforce the repayment for those who insist they will not come back,” the man stated.
He continued by saying that students who don’t want to return home will be deemed persona non grata if they don’t pay back the money used to fund their programs.
We’ll write to the embassies, and if they make it available to those countries, they won’t be able to find employment, Echono declared. They’ll be regarded as extradition candidates from their own nations.
“Given the worrisome numbers, we might have to adopt that tough stance. We just checked over 40 institutions and 137 fugitives, and the review is still in progress.
We will be asking for your help to toughen some of the current regulations to make sure that individuals who benefit from this program must return because it is a vast number that we cannot afford.
We have nothing against people seeking out better opportunities, but please do it independently and without using our support or scholarship.
According to the Executive Secretary, the exchange rate situation may force TETFund to halt funding for international scholarships.
Echono claimed that while some taxes are paid to TETFund in foreign currency at the account held with the Central Bank of Nigeria, the central bank mandates that TETFUND source foreign exchange on its own when fees are due for scholars studying abroad.
