Underfunding plaguing state-owned universities

This observation was made at the opening ceremony of the 3rd bi-ennial conference of Pro-Chancellors of states-owned universities held last week in Minna, Niger State.The Pro-Chancellors Committee meets quarterly to brainstorm on matters bordering development of education. According to the committee, state-owned universities were at all times engaged in critical search on ways to improve […]

This observation was made at the opening ceremony of the 3rd bi-ennial conference of Pro-Chancellors of states-owned universities held last week in Minna, Niger State.
The Pro-Chancellors Committee meets quarterly to brainstorm on matters bordering development of education.
According to the committee, state-owned universities were at all times engaged in critical search on ways to improve their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and raise funds through external interventions to improve their services.
The committee observed that the federal and state governments have politicised the issue of payment of fees  and that for state owned universities to attain the world class standard, there is urgent need for the upward review of the fees charged by federal universities.
To reposition state universities, a template has been developed to harmonise the laws and operations of such institutions. Some of the issues addressed by the committee in the template were the appointment and term of office for the VCs and other principal officers of the university.
The template also defined the roles to be played by the councils of universities in monitoring the state policies on education as well as developed a framework for bench marking among state universities.
In his address, the Chairman of the Committee, Justice A.G Karibi-Whyte, charged state governments to adequately fund their universities and ensure timely release of funds.
Justice Karibi-Whyte said the call became imperative considering the competing demands that the state governments are saddled with in running the affairs of their people.
He said: “Critical to the attainment of world class standard is the issue of funding; state government should fund their universities adequately.
“Since the state governments are also saddled with numerous responsibilities of state matters, universities are therefore encouraged to explore ways and means to improve on the internally generated revenue and also raise funds through external interventions.”
He added that the theme of the 3rd Biennial Conference, “Making State Universities World Class,” was informed by the urgent need to improve facilities, quality staff recruitment, funding and proper management of state universities with a view of paving a way for the attainment of required standard universities education.
He said the committee upheld the decision of universities across the country in maintaining the quality of education through post-UTME screening of admission for applicants.
He said: “We are convinced that the universities are established by law which allows them certain rights and privileges, one of which is the right of admission of students. We are happy that the National Assembly has resolved for the continuation of the post- UTME.”
Presenting his paper with the theme “Politics and Funding of State Universities”, the Benue State Governor Gabriel Torwua Suswam, said politics involved influencing policies or decision making whereas education, on the other hand, plays the role of uplifting the standards of living of nations across the world.
He added: “Education can be viewed as an effective tool that can be used to respond rapidly to the changing needs and aspirations of any nation. Education does not only serve as a custodian of the people’s culture expressed in the language of the people, their mode of dress, form of marriage, social organizations, political activities and technology but also serves as a process through which the society transmits its culture to the young ones.”
He said university education is the bedrock of human capital development, lamenting that the education sector has been in crisis for many years epitomised by frequent strikes.
The sector is plagued by the challenge of inadequate funding, material and human resources, brain drain and a host of other problems.
“Education should be at the top of the priority list of successive Nigerian governments, unfortunately this has not been so. This is why the challenges of developing our manpower to desired levels still persist,” he said.
On the issue of funding of state-owned institutions, Suswam recalled that, “during the oil crisis in the 80s, the administration and funding of the Universal Primary Education programme was decentralized; the rich states managed to maintain the scheme while it collapsed in the poor states. At college and university levels, the changes included the termination of the student teachers bursary awards and withdrawal of feeding subsidies.”
He said it became apparent that government could not meet the demands of universities as subventions of universities could hardly meet the financial requirements for running the institutions, adding that in response to the demand for higher education, universities continued to expand thus, exceeding available resources, a situation that resulted into series of crises.
 “Government in its attempt to have a hold on universities has brought in sharp conflict with the academic community. Universities on their part embarked on rapid establishment of satellite campuses in order to sell products and services to raise additional funds. The proliferation of satellite campuses greatly diluted the quality of offerings of universities as students of these campuses who are usually civil servants, embark on part time study and hardly had time to attend lectures because they were too busy attending to their duties,” he noted.
 On the way forward, Suswam said state-owned universities must begin to reduce politicisation of the issue of funding and develop closely with councils’ plans of ensuring that they flourish better than federal or private ones.
 Niger State Governor Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu in his remarks said the Pro Chancellors Committee is a platform that could provide room for synergies, peer review and exchanging ideas on the best practice for managing and running of state owned universities effectively.
He said: “As chairmen of the governing councils of your respective universities, you should appreciate the enormous challenges confronting universities education in Nigeria. It behoves on all stakeholders in the sector to fashion out modalities by which your universities can be run effectively for social development and positive change. I enjoin you to come up with realistic, actionable ideas and proposals that will assist in propelling the state owned universities to attain enviable height.”