The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has expressed disappointment over what he described as the poor commitment of vice-chancellors of federal universities to efforts aimed at strengthening alternative funding and improving the financial sustainability of Nigerian universities.
Alausa raised the concern at the Nigeria Higher Education Foundation (NHEF) National University Advancement Programme Forum, where he disclosed that only 18 vice-chancellors were present.
According to the minister, only 30 of Nigeria’s 78 federal universities participated in the Federal Ministry of Education-NHEF Advancement Programme despite its importance to the future and financial sustainability of the institutions.
“For something this important to the future and financial sustainability of our universities, we must do better,” Alausa said.
The minister said the Federal Government had repeatedly encouraged universities to strengthen their Advancement Offices and diversify their sources of funding, stressing that tertiary institutions could no longer depend solely on government allocations.
He said Nigerian universities have significant opportunities to generate additional resources through alumni networks, research grants, philanthropy, endowments and partnerships with the private sector but have not sufficiently developed the structures required to harness them.
According to him, many universities have continued to deprioritise their Advancement Offices despite the role such units could play in mobilising resources and strengthening their institutions.
Alausa consequently directed vice-chancellors to rebuild and properly staff their Advancement Offices and place the units directly under their offices.
He also asked university managements to provide advancement professionals with the stability, access and institutional support required to perform their responsibilities effectively while taking full advantage of the training and platform being provided by NHEF.
“This is no longer a suggestion. It is a mandate,” the minister declared.
Alausa said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration remained committed to funding education but stressed that vice-chancellors also have a responsibility to develop new sources of revenue for their institutions.
He identified research grants, alumni contributions, philanthropy, private-sector investment and endowment funds as important components of the blended financing model required to strengthen Nigerian universities.
According to him, greater diversification of university funding would also contribute to increased financial sustainability and institutional autonomy.
“We are not reinventing the wheel. We will take what works globally, adapt it to Nigeria and build institutions that can thrive for generations,” he said.
The education minister warned university administrators that the practice of depending almost entirely on government funding was no longer sustainable.
“To our Vice Chancellors: the era of waiting for government to fund everything must end. Build the structures. Mobilise the resources. Strengthen your institutions. That is your responsibility, and it must become part of your legacy,” Alausa said.
He also thanked the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kuramo Capital Management, Wale Adeosun, and the NHEF team for their partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education and efforts to re-establish and strengthen Advancement Offices across federal universities.
The minister maintained that developing sustainable alternative funding mechanisms would be crucial to the long-term growth of Nigeria’s university system and reducing institutions’ dependence on government allocations.
