Further to the news about decline in quality of education in the country for quite some time, a new and worrisome development is the cutting of subventions to state universities nationwide. Just as the federal budget on education refuses to match the rhetoric of the government on the importance of knowledge for innovation and global competitiveness, governors in many states have reduced allocations to subnational higher education institutions.
Such actions have dire consequences.
Apart from what has been a perennial problem with quality of education in the country at all levels, reducing subventions to state universities can only lead to weakening of academic integrity of such institutions. Already, lecturers and students have identified some of such consequences: inadequate classrooms that in some colleges lead to holding of two different lectures in the same hall at the same time, lack of research funds, late payment of salaries to staff, absence of staff development initiatives, poor access of students to learning resources, etc.
Undoubtedly, cutting of subventions for financial reasons in the states, and perhaps in the country, is not surprising. The Federal Government, which funds the states through transfers from the federation account came into power in the middle of a recession, arising largely from a dip in the price of the country’s economic driver, crude oil. What is surprising is the inability of the states to be more clear-headed about the capital-intensive character of universities.
Another worry is the failure of governors to be foresighted about the implications of poor finance in a country where allocation of fiscal authority and functions are loaded in favour of the central government. Put succinctly, the current situation is a sign of bad policies on the part of governors who have for too long got used to business as usual.
Long before the recession of 2015, national and international observers had identified that three states seem sustainable: Lagos, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom. Yet, many states not in this rank own more than one university. For example, Osun has five campuses of its state university and co-owns another with Oyo State in Ogbomoso, while Ondo has three universities and one polytechnic; Oyo co-owns Ogbomoso’s University of Technology along with newly established Technical University in Ibadan. Even states with just one university find it hard to fund it to the point of guaranteeing academic integrity.
Governors ought to give more priority to state universities and be seen to be doing so. It is not rational for states to budget millions of naira for pork projects while students and faculty lack good access to physical and digital library resources. At present, many states are in danger of creating higher education that is inferior to what Nigerians go to Ghana to receive, or even to the quality of federal universities.
It is no use pretending that it does not matter if students are put through education factories not fitted to turn out good products. That existence of minimum academic infrastructure in many universities currently depends on transfers from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), a federal agency, suggests the need to re-think the relationship between subnational units and the national government, especially in fiscal terms.
In addition, governors and state legislators ought to rub minds with citizens on finding a new formula for funding quality higher education. Nothing is gained by having universities that may not be able to produce employable graduates. And governors should refrain from starting projects they may not be able to fund.
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