How Trust Services Guarantees Children’s Uninterrupted Education: the

By Gbolahan Oluyemi

For a country to develop and maximize its human resources potential, the nation must prioritize the education of its population. According to Nelson Mandela, education is the most powerful weapon which can change the world.

Unfortunately, our education statistics are not impressive. Nigeria has a high number of out-of-school children. Available data also suggests that over 10 per cent of tertiary institution students drop out of school due to a lack of funds.

In recent times, the scholarship opportunities which could ease the burden are dwindling. The few available scholarship opportunities are highly competitive. Also, many parents do not believe in the educational system in Nigeria. Hence, parents prefer to send their children abroad.

Education abroad requires more funds and places a huge burden on parents. The problems bewildering education in Nigeria are enormous; from the incessant strike of teaching and non-teaching staff, infrastructural decay, archaic curriculums, to lack of funding. The problem associated with lack of funding is more worrisome because qualitative education is dependent on the availability of financial resources.

As parents, adequate funds should be available for the children’s education. For effectiveness, education must be objective, qualitative and uninterrupted. The objectivity may be within parental control; however, the quality and continuity are dependent on the availability of financial resources. Parents often struggle with funding children’s education and building wealth personally. Most parents have sacrificed their dreams and project to ensure their children’s education is qualitative and uninterrupted.

While public trust services can be used to solve the infrastructural challenges bewildering Nigeria’s education sector, the private trust offers itself to parents as an estate-planning mode that ensures that no matter what life throws at the parent, the children’s education is not compromised. Unfortunately, most Nigerians are yet to understand the problem-solving nature of trust services.

An education trust assures that the children’s education is qualitative and not disrupted by lack of funds, loss of earnings, retirement or even death. Effective usage of trust services eliminates the interruption usually caused by the sponsor/parent’s death or financial incapacity.

A trust arrangement ensures that funds are set aside, invested and dedicated to the children’s education. In 2021, Cedrus Trustees started offering Tutelage Trust to parents. With the Tutelage Trust, parents can commit a certain sum to the trust fund for the children’s education. The Trustee invests the funds and applies the funds and the returns on investment towards the beneficiaries’ education.

In other words, no matter what life brings the way of the parents, they can relax knowing that funds are available to ensure the children’s education is not interrupted by life’s circumstances.

Surprisingly, Cedrus Trustees does not charge a set-up or management fees for its trust funds. Cedrus also provides advisory services to help parents access funding for their children’s education. Parents who set up the tutelage trust may further benefit from a complimentary Will writing service that eases access to the retirement savings account.

As Africans, we must embrace creativity in solving our complex problems. The tutelage trust is a solution that should be embraced by every responsible parent. Trust services remain an efficient tool for every parent to explore in solving their day-to-day challenges.

The flexibility that trust services offer gives it an edge over other modes of estate planning. Parents must begin to think outside the box for themselves, their dependents and society.

Let us discuss trust services, engage me via [email protected]. You can also engage Cedrus Trustees via [email protected].