Looking beyond the 2023 budget for universities

By Nasir Aminu  The tertiary education sector of every country is a vital factor for development, reducing poverty, and boosting growth. The sector helps develop a skilled workforce, enhance individual intellectual potential and acquire physical and intellectual talents. Like other post-secondary institutions, universities are part of the tertiary education sector.   So, it was a relief […]

By Nasir Aminu 

The tertiary education sector of every country is a vital factor for development, reducing poverty, and boosting growth. The sector helps develop a skilled workforce, enhance individual intellectual potential and acquire physical and intellectual talents. Like other post-secondary institutions, universities are part of the tertiary education sector.  

So, it was a relief to know that the Nigerian government is hopeful that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will call off its longstanding strike following a lengthy negotiation. Like the unsolved fuel subsidy problem, the ASUU deal is included in the 2023 Budget – Buhari’s final budget. 

As part of the deal, the Buhari administration allocated N470 billion in the 2023 budget for the revitalisation and salary enhancements in the tertiary institutions. An equal distribution would mean each federal university would get around N9.6 billion, but that’s not the case.  

The 2023 Budget allocated 49 per cent of the tertiary education budget, N230.9 billion, to only 14 federal universities. The University of Nuskka is allocated N29.3 billion, Ahmadu Bello University will receive N25.8 billion, the University of Lagos will get N22.3 billion, the University of Ilorin is allocated N18.1 billion, Obafemi Awolowo University is to receive N16.3 billion, and the University of Jos N14.2 billion from the 2023 budget. The Federal Technology University Owerri will receive N14.3 billion, and the Nigeria Open University will receive N10.7 billion from the budget. The University of Calabar will get N21.5 billion, the University of Benin will receive N19.5 billion, the University of Ibadan will get N19.2 billion, and Nnamdi Azikiwe University will receive a share of N18.3 billion. 

That means the other 35 universities will have to make do with lower allocation – an average allocation of N6.9 billion. Of course, factors and constraints are considered in the allocation, but the opportunity for accelerated growth of the smaller and medium-sized universities is truncated.  

In his last budget proposal, Buhari thought the academic staff should be showing appreciation for their present situation in the country. But should they?  

They say fairness is in the eye of the beholder, and it is unfair to the other 35 universities that are getting lower funding. One will not expect them to behave like the 14 universities receiving almost half of the allocation.  

Given the ASUU agreement being a short-term solution, it would have been better if some form of equality was applied to allow the growing institutions to grow and prepare for the next phase of university reform. Buhari’s opinion on federal government’s funding of tertiary education is clear. He said government alone could not continue funding tertiary education, hoping to introduce additional funding modalities in the future. If sectors other than the government were to get involved, then a level playing ground should be created for all universities. 

As a developing economy, Nigeria and the West African region should be integrated into a world knowledge network and process the knowledge into skills. Education can benefit many people simultaneously without affecting others. An economy with a large population, such as Nigeria’s, has the potential to have more people working in research and development to create more knowledge. Nigeria’s rising youth population can use knowledge to increase productivity. 

As the tertiary sector is considering some reforms, the decision-makers should aim at increasing the total knowledge matters in the country, not per capita knowledge. That is because the larger the population with education, the more scientists produce knowledge for everyone to use and the faster economic growth. A working model should involve a research collaboration between the tertiary institutions and all tiers of government. Doing so will attract multilateral bodies, international institutions and other bodies to engage in collaboration.  

For example, the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals will be much interested in collaborating with universities to meet its education for sustainable development (ESD) because it is not described as one of the key objectives of the education sector in Nigeria. ESD is a vision of education which gives students the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to become socially responsible global citizens and shape a sustainable future. ESD covers the three pillars of sustainability – environmental, social and economic issues.  

Private universities in Nigeria are a step further with international collaborations, which attract a decent amount of funding. If public universities were to open up, the social benefit would be much higher in tuition fees, capacity building, and other community development projects. For example, our public tertiary institutions contribute to education through apprenticeships, technical training and vocational education.   

As we are, all we can do is look forward and hope for a short-term agreement with ASUU as the education of the less-privileged Nigerian youth is delayed. The next government will have to act quicker than expected.  

As a Global Citizen who cares about education, I call on all presidential candidates to review their manifestos, for those who have it, to include a sustainable plan for tertiary education in Nigeria. A viable plan has a higher probability of changing the minds of voters and attracting those who are undecided. 

 

Dr  Aminu lectures at Cardiff Metropolitan University