Incorporate Us in TETFUND, Tertiary Health Institutions Urge FG

The Committee of Chief Executives of Tertiary Health Institutions wants the Federal Government to incorporate tertiary health institutions in Nigeria into the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND). In buttressing their demand, the heads of tertiary health institutions in the country disclosed that they have formally forwarded a letter to the National Assembly, urging the federal lawmakers to amend TETFUND Act of 2011. At a press conference in Calabar, the chairman of the tertiary health institutions in the country, Dr. Thomas Agan, who is also the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), said their demands have already been forwarded to the House of Representatives Committee on Health Institutions, through the Federal Ministry of Health. Agan stressed that there was urgent need to amend the TETFUND Act of 2011 in order to include the funding of Tertiary/Teaching Hospitals in the law.“It is possible that formulators of the Act were not sufficiently informed at the time. It is however not late to address this pathetic situation. The Act should be amended to incorporate Tertiary/Teaching Hospitals. Thus Section 7(1) Sub-Section 3 of the Act should read thus: “the distribution of the Fund, shall be in the ratio of 2:1:5:1: between Universities, Source: Thisday