The Vice Chancellor of the College of Lagos, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, has lamented the poor funding of universities within the nation.
Ogunsola spoke on Saturday when she was a visitor speaker on the third version of Topaz Lecture organized by the UNILAG Mass Communication Class of 1988.
The lecture, titled 'Financing Tertiary Schooling: Challenges and Choices', was delivered by way of Zoom.
The VC recalled that in 2023, the across-the-board improve at school charges in lots of universities within the nation was not linked to the elimination of gas subsidies by the President Bola Tinubu-led authorities.
She mentioned: “In Nigeria, TetFund is the most important funding that offers us the best quantity,” including that UNILAG might now not afford to ship academics to occasions as authorities funding had been decreased.
“Universities should have the best manpower, gear, services, actions and processes,” she famous.
Oginsola added that “4-6 p.c of the gross home product or 15-20 p.c of presidency expenditure (annual finances)” is advisable to finance schooling.
She, nevertheless, referred to as on the FG to handle this want as, in line with her, the age for tertiary schooling is 86 million – about 38 p.c of Nigeria's inhabitants between the ages of 15 and 30, as proven within the 2019/2020 schooling statistics.
Ogunsola lamented the thought of transferring all college charges to the Treasury Single Account as mandated beneath the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
This, she mentioned, has restricted the event of the establishment and in addition put loads of stress on the administration to search for alternative routes to generate extra income.
She cited the federal government's lack of institutional reminiscence as “they saved forgetting the essence of IGR in universities.”
The VC added that the present literacy price within the nation is 140 million.
She acknowledged that poor funding of universities had additionally contributed to the exodus of Nigerian academics in search of higher choices overseas.
The visitor speaker famous that regardless of the rise in inflation, “there have been two federal universities each 4 years between 1948 and 1999. From 2000 to 2024, there have been two federal universities each two years.”
She acknowledged that the TSA, the federal government's lack of institutional reminiscence, incessant strikes and the impoverishment of the schooling sector, amongst different issues, had contributed to the low funding of universities.
Whereas utilizing 2022 as a case examine, Ogunsola acknowledged that whereas the college had estimated government-funded income at N716 million, the establishment had N323 million.
She mentioned UNILAG achieved a complete turnover of N10.4 billion towards the anticipated N20.6 billion, which was partly attributable to low authorities funding.
Ogunsola emphasised that universities could be financed via numerous means together with authorities funding, tuition and charges, analysis grants and contracts, endowments and donations.
The VC in contrast the income supply of Nigerian universities with their counterparts overseas.
She famous that Coventry College in the UK earned 80 p.c of its income via tuition charges between 2022 and 2023.
She additionally acknowledged that Stanford College in america earned 61 p.c of its income via healthcare providers.
This, she added, was now not possible in Nigeria as a result of former President Olusegun Obasanjo had “disconnected” the nation's universities from their healthcare providers throughout his army regime.
Ogunsola, subsequently, famous that Nigerian universities should discover alternative routes via which they are often funded.
Ogunsola, the thirteenth VC of the establishment, advisable that as a step ahead, the discharge of the schools' endowment funds from the TSA and the reversal of insurance policies that hamper the technology of funds by universities.
She additionally referred to as for correct financing of analysis and scholar loans, amongst different issues.
When our correspondent requested what the establishment is doing to assessment its curriculum and in addition keep consistent with the 30 p.c suggestion of the Nigeria Universities Fee, Ogunsola acknowledged that “UNILAG has been intentionally working in that course.”
She famous that the establishment gives its college students with innovation and artistic hubs to arrange them for the worldwide aggressive market.
“We’ve got elevated the focusing on of the place our college students do internships. The opposite factor we’re doing is altering the best way pedagogy is practiced as we practice our academics to be extra hands-on, she added.
TOPAZ, a bunch of UNILAG alumni dedicated to nurturing a robust community and selling excellence within the area of mass communications, has persistently organized thought-provoking occasions that handle urgent points within the business.
