Govt funding public varsities not sustainable

A former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Professor Olufemi Bamiro,  has stressed the need for the proper administration of universities in Nigeria towards addressing the challenges of the socio-economic development of the country.

The don stated that government funding of public universities was no more sustainable,  saying the stakeholders too needed to be involved in the funding of the institutions.

He stated this at a lecture he delivered at the Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology,  Okitipupa,  Ondo State.

The lecture was titled, ‘ Transforming the Nigerian university system for graduate employability and socio-economic development.’

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Bamiro said,  “In respect of funding, as presented in this paper, the funding scheme of the public universities, characterized by heavy reliance on government funding, is highly unsustainable. The situation calls for the involvement of all the key stakeholders – government, our academic institutions, parents, and funding agencies – in cost sharing.

“Implicit in this is the need for every institution to put in place a computer-based enterprise resource planning model for a better determination of the real costs of
education, training and research coupled, most importantly, with the optimal management of resource inflow and outflow. This will facilitate the evolution of evidence-based policies and implementation to achieve sustainable financing of our universities.”

The don also appealed to the graduates of the institution to acquire more knowledge and skills, using information through Information and Communication Technology to make them employable.

“As for graduate employability, my appeal to the graduates is that they should embrace the concept of learning to learn through which you use the opportunities that exist through the ICT-enabled information superhighway towards enhancing the skills acquired within the four walls of the university.

“Our lecturers are now facilitators equipping you with the basic skills and tools of analysis that we are expected to build upon to thrive in the local and global economies,” he admonished.