A Clarion Call for New Funding Model for Tertiary Education in Nigeria, by Rahma Oladosu

No one can dispute it. Poor or inadequate funding of Nigerian ivory towers is one of the reasons the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, frequently embarks on industrial actions, to compel the government to do the needful.

Perturbed by the level of decay in Nigerian universities, ASUU has embarked on no fewer than 16 strike actions in the last 24 years. It is however worrisome that successive governments have only accorded scant attention to aggressively funding universities in the country.

About five to six decades ago, Nigerian universities were the toast of even foreigners. Citizens of European and many African countries attended some of the premier universities in the country, a few years after the country’s independence.

Nowadays, it will be easier for a camel to pass through a needle’s eye than to find foreign students at the University of Lagos, UNILAG, or the famous Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria. Like its contemporaries – UNILAG and ABU Zaria – the University of Ibadan and University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, are now a shadow of themselves.

Nigerian public universities, like the deadly Ebola and Coronavirus, among other pandemics, are not only ‘stigmatised’ by foreign nationals, but citizens too. The elite, politicians and most public servants enroll their children and wards in expensive private institutions in the country or send them abroad.

Although the federal government is often accused of paying lip service towards accelerating the development of the country’s university system, one of its intervention agencies is filling the gap.

Established in 2011, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, appears to be one of the best things that have happened to our tertiary education sector, in recent years.

The foremost intervention agency for Nigeria’s tertiary education sub-sector, has consistently, and assiduously, come to the aid of ‘ailing’ universities, polytechnics and Colleges of Education, CoEs across the country.

TETFund has provided, and is still providing, funds for infrastructural development across Nigerian higher institutions, since it was birthed over a decade ago. The agency, through its disbursement of annual research grants to Nigerian academics, boosted research activities in our universities, and polytechnics in particular.

In virtually all the public higher institutions in our land, projects such as hostels, lecture theatres, laboratories, and even Senate Buildings, among others, executed by TETFund are impressive sights to behold.

The efforts of TETFund towards enhancing infrastructural growth and human capital development in Nigeria higher institutions is tremendously being catalysed by the Education Tax Fund whose percentage has remained paltry for years now.

That is why TETFund, for the umpteenth time, is emphasising the need for a new sustainable funding model for tertiary education in Nigeria, as a means of curbing the incessant industrial actions by various staff unions in the tertiary institutions that have been prevalent in the last few decades.

Executive Secretary, TETFund, Sonny Echono, made the call in his address on “Sustainable Funding of Tertiary Education in Nigeria” at the occasion of 60th anniversary celebrations of the National Universities Commission, NUC.

His words: “A new model of sustainable funding for tertiary education in Nigeria is needed. There are three fundamental areas that need to be addressed.

“The first is the government funding, which is currently below the global average and needs to be increased and deployed in a more transparent manner and better managed. An increase in Education Tax to three percent will address this imperative.

“The second is the University curricula. It needs a revamp to produce graduates who are better suited to the realities of the national economy, which is an economy that cannot offer more formal employment at present, but rather needs job creators. Faithful implementation of the Triple-Helix-Model of government, academic and industry collaboration will upscale private sector contribution and demands, and ultimately deliver benefits to all.

“The third is for the nation’s universities to generate their income to complement government funding. Our universities should be encouraged and supported to seek additional revenue sources by developing a range of pathways and mechanisms, including ventures related to their core business of education delivery, research and services such as clinical medical facilities, agribusiness and consultancy services that would be self-financing to generate surplus to the institution and similar initiatives.”

Recalling many past recommendations that are yet to be implemented, the TETFund boss said: “Government should allow full implementation of the 2004 Universities Miscellaneous (Autonomy) Act, which empowers University Councils to take full charge of their operations and development; limit its role to overall policy framework, regulation and the creation/strengthening of institutions such as NUC, TETFund, Education Bank, Federal Scholarship Board and a Students’ Loans Board to address the multifaceted challenges of education; Continue to provide scholarship and bursary for exceptionally gifted scholars and verifiable indigent students based on income levels of parents and other discernable criteria.”

It will be to the credit of the federal and state governments if public universities established and funded by them become world class, with top-notch learning infrastructure. Doing that will put a final stop to the menace of half-baked graduates, with zero job skills.

But first, the government and other critical stakeholders in the country’s university sector, must speedily evolve a sustainable model of funding our ivory towers. If only they can summon the requisite political will to do the needful, then it will only be a matter of time for the lost glories of our world class UNN, UNILAG, UI and ABU Zaria, among other public universities, to be restored.