Experts call for strategic funding option for varsities in 2015

Going by the importance of robust funding for all levels of education in the country, not a few education watchers have underscored its relevance to the nation’s education sector.

In this regard, they readily insist that the role that funding plays in education, especially as it pertains to tertiary institutions worldwide cannot be over-emphasised.

It is equally not out of place to assert that it is on the basis of quality education that societal and national development is measured, they maintained.

Suffice it to say then, that the measure of funding received by universities in any country remains one of the crucial indicators of any institution’s seriousness in its quest to contribute to 21st century national development. This is because the quality of education in a society determines the quality of its leaders and the pace of social development.
Higher institutions in advanced and well-organised societies are the centres of social activities; and with well structured funding, provide the good platforms for research, teaching and learning.

It is for this reason that education and research experts have called on Nigerian universities to tap into the fountain that strategy funding option provides, if they are to remain relevant in global academic rating.

That no Nigerian university is ranked among the top 200 universities in the world indicates that without financial input, the rating of universities in this part of the world will continue to drop.

While some professionals have expressed regrets that the management of several Nigerian universities have yet to appreciate the impact of tapping into the huge resource opportunity available to them in terms of finance option in their academic environment, others opine that university management today has gone beyond expecting funding from federal and state governments as is being experienced in the country today.

Ibidapo Obe in his assessment of the issue of funding disclosed that the problem of underfunding, which is a major challenge confronting Nigerian tertiary institutions has had adverse effects on their performance.

“Inadequate funding of universities has limited their capacity to contribute to economic development by providing cutting edge research and innovations that would support the various sectors of the economy,” he said.

He opined that by UNESCO standard, a developing economy should allocate 26 percent of its annual budget to education but regrets that Nigeria over the years has not met this target, adding that available data showed that the federal government budgetary allocation to education in the decade has really not matched the expectation of education watchers.

Obe further disclosed that the university system is experiencing phenomenal growth in student enrolment, academic programmes, personnel and activism among students, which pose enormous challenges to the process of administration, especially at a time when funds are diminishing.

“The need for adequate funding for universities has been established and cannot be over emphasised. It has proven to be a strong driver in successful running and implementation of the various programmes. Yet anecdotal evidence in Nigeria has revealed that funding education falls short of international best practice,” he said.

In proffering solution to this, the university don maintained that the continued dependence on public funds has indeed reduced the quality of output of Nigerian universities.

He called for institutions to seek alternative sources of funding and mobilise additional private funds.

“Indeed, the notion of less government and new funding dimensions is strong but it is not supported by the current economic fundamentals,” he added.