FUNDING UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: LOCATING THE EPICENTRE FOR LASTING SOLUTIONS

Abstract

This paper addressed the issue of funding of university education in Nigeria which has assumed the centre-stage of discourse of education in Nigeria in recent times. The demand for higher education is so high because education has been considered as not only an investment in human capital, but also a pre-requisite for economic development. However, the sector has been grossly underfunded and neglected by government which has led to strike, poor infrastructure and learning facilities and brain-drain. The study population comprised university management and administrators and union leaders in Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma and University of Benin, Benin City. The deliberate sampling technique was used to sample 120 management and administrative staff and union leaders in the two universities. The questionnaire was used for data collection to determine the level of  available funds to the university system in Nigeria, the adequacy of the funds to the needs of  the system in order to produce quality graduates for national development. Percentage was used for data analysis. Among the findings were that the current level of funding of university education is insufficient, the burden of funding is almost solely on government and parents as well, most of whom live below poverty line, the corporate bodies are seemingly averse to funding and would rather prefer to sponsor sports and other shows, that government is not paying true attention to university education in Nigeria which is responsible for the present  rot in the sector and that most university administrators play politics with university administration. Recommendations were made based on findings that government should pay adequate attention to university education and fund the sector adequately, corporate world in Nigeria, apart from their contribution to the Education Task Fund, should invest in university education to ensure the production of quality graduates to be absorbed by them and that the management of each university should make judicious use of available funds to the system and stop playing politics with university administration.