CLEMENT IDOKO, in this piece, writes that the changing dynamics in higher education and funding cuts from government have contributed to forcing managers of Nigerian universities to think out of the box in order to achieve sustainable funding, concluding that, nurturing and leveraging on alumni connections is one sure way out of the wood.
JUST as the Federal Government is gravitating towards implementation of full autonomy to Nigerian universities, the vice chancellors, who are the heads of the institutions, are also beginning to have introspection on how to achieve sustainable funding of the institutions.
The age-long overdependence on the government as the only source of funding for public universities in Nigerian had led to decay in infrastructure, shortage of personnel, poor remuneration, brain drain, poor and ill-equipped laboratories and lack of modern teaching and learning infrastructure among others.
The situation is being exacerbated by the dwindling government resources, funding cuts and how to meet up with the dynamics and future of education using advanced technology and automation as well as ensure global ranking among other considerations, which have caused institutions to begin to think out of the box.
Since public tertiary institutions in Nigeria are ‘largely tuition free,’ the charges universities collect from students are inadequate to train a student for a programme in the real sense of cost for training of each student.
Leading the process for a search for alternative funding is the vice chancellors of Nigerian universities under the platform of Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU), which has the Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Professor Lilian Salami, as the current chairperson.
The vice chancellors have come to the realisation that one of the critical ways to navigate out of the current challenges being faced by universities in Nigeria, especially public universities as a result of poor funding, is to tap into the power of the alumni economy. As a matter of fact, not even the incessant strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), have resolved the issues.
Accordingly, the CVCNU, in collaboration with the Conference of Alumni Association of Nigerian Universities (CAANU), penultimate week held a one-day workshop with the theme, ‘Institutional Advancement, Alumni Relations and University Education in Nigeria.
The event attracted experts and critical stakeholders with paper presentations and brainstorming seasons on how to achieve alternative funding, improve teaching and learning environment in universities in Nigeria, in line with the global standard.
Stakeholders at the event expressed worry that the over reliance on government funding in of terms budgetary allocation and intervention by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is not healthy for effective growth and future of university education in the country.
They also observed that by understanding and leveraging the power of alumni connections, higher education institutions could enhance the educational experience for their students and create a strong network of support and advancement.
Secretary-General of Africa Universities Fund (AUF), USA, Chijike Ndukwu, in his presentation entitled, ‘Navigating the Alumni Economy through Strategic Investment Opportunities at the workshop, highlighted successful examples of institutions with thriving alumni investment programmes.
One of such institutions is Stanford University, which Ndukwu said had raised $50 million through alumni-backed venture capital funds, fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.
He also revealed that Harvard University had also established a successful alumni-driven endowment programme, accumulating $100 million for research initiatives.
He noted that University of Oxford also implemented a diversified investment portfolio, attracting $30 million for scholarships and infrastructure.
According to him, these examples illustrate the tangible impact of thriving alumni investment programmes, showcasing substantial monetary values and varied initiatives, adding that the alumni economy encompasses the far-reaching alumni networks on institutions globally.
This, he said “extends beyond conventional roles as active contributors to institutional growth and economic development.”
Professor Salami, who doubles as the Chairperson of CVCNU, in her opening remarks, said that it is high time there was some form of synergy between the advancement and alumni offices in Nigerian universities and charged the participants to ensure that the objectives of the workshop as stated in the letters inviting them were fully met.
Salami’s remark was delivered on her behalf by the secretary-general of CVCNU, Professor Yakubu Ochefu.
She said the expectations were that at the end of the day, there should be a kind of engagement process that will see the director of postgraduate schools, directors of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), directors of students affairs come together, rub minds and work on platforms that would help move the Nigerian University System (NUS) forward.
She added that whether a participant is from private or public universities established by either a state or the Federal Government, the platform should surpass everybody in order to work together to help move the Nigerian university system forward.
Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, had recently hinted on the intention of the Federation Government to grant public universities financial autonomy.
He disclosed that by early next year, the governing councils of universities would be reconstituted.
The implication of this is that the governing councils would now take full charge of recruitment, remuneration of workers and other policy measures as provided in the University Autonomy Act. There was also an indication to that as many observed that the removal of tertiary institutions from Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS) platform is a prelude to that.
Stakeholders have, however, warned that weaning universities from government funding in the name of financial autonomy has to be a gradual process, in view of the decades of decadence in the system requiring huge financial intervention of government.
Vice Chancellor of Joseph Tarka University, Makurdi, Professor Isaac Itodo, who was the chairman on the occasion and immediate past vice chairman ofthe Conference of Alumni Association of Nigerian Universities (CAANU), said the workshop was organised not only to interrogate the roles of Alumni desk officers across various universities in Nigeria but to redefine their roles for meaningfulness and purposefulness, so as to lead to positive delivery in alumni dispensations.
He noted that the time has come to revisit the activities of the alumni associations because they are major stakeholders of every institution and that there is the need for them to take ownership of their respective institutions.
Professor Itodo, however, described as pettiness, claims in some quarters that the ill-treatment some students had experience through some lecturers while in school might make them not to give back to their alma maters.
Professor Ochefu, earlier in his presentation on the ‘Role of Alumni Association as Drivers and Enablers of Educational Transformation in the Era of Education 4.0,’ reflected on the changing educational dynamics and the drivers, the role being played by the Advancement/Alumni Office, university reputation and ranking and the growth pattern of Nigeria university system in the over 75 years journey when the first university was established in Nigeria.
He said it is remarkable that in the 75 years, a total of 270 universities have been licensed by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
According to him, while the first generation universities, established between 1948 and 1970 were only five (5), the second generation between 1970 and 1976 saw to the establishment of 23 universities, the third generation, which was from 1976 to 1985 recorded 20 universities, the fourth, 1985 to 1999, 29 universities and from 1999 to 2023, not less than 241 universities were established.
He noted that about 80 of the country’s apex institutions were established during the Fourth Republic that began in 1999, adding that by sheer numbers and possibly by the quality of graduates and their likely impact on society, the Fourth Republic “can definitely be looked upon as the golden age of university education in Nigeria.”
Education 4.0, which was the key focus of Ochefu’s presentation, is a purposeful approach to learning that lines up with the fourth industrial revolution and about transforming the future of education using technology and automation.
It emphasises the need to prepare students to take on challenges, head-on, stating that “students should be adept with skills set by the fast-changing technology; they should be led, but not instructed; information should be made accessible, but not fed to them. Both general and vocational education should aim at making students skill-ready to compute with the outside labour force.”
The secretary-general of CVCNU, however, noted while some private universities established few years ago are doing well in terms quality of graduates of the system and global ranking of the institutions, the same cannot be said of several public universities established years ago.
He pointed out that inadequate funding remained one of the major challenges militating against affective growth and global ranking of public universities in Nigeria.
Speaking on the difficulties being faced by public universities in Nigeria as a result of inadequate funding, Ochefu said there was the need for cost-sharing based on what is required to train a student in the university.
He disclosed that the committee was able to come up with figures about what is required to train a student in a university, including public universities but noted that there is still gaps in the cost-sharing ratio between the government and the individual student.
According to him, to train one medical student in a university takes about N5 billion even in the public universities.
Ochefu, however, admitted that government alone could not fund education, adding that the workshop was organized as part of efforts to harness the potentials of Alumni of various institutions across the country as well as non-university organisations or persons as huge alternative source of funding for Nigerian Universities.
Ochefu, said the CVCNU in partnership with CAAN, therefore, decided to bring some specialists to come and share insights about what is needed to be done to leverage on the potentials of Alumni and other non-university persons for enhanced development of university system in Nigeria.
Director, Linkages and Development, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Ahmad Shehu, speaking on the importance of alumni engagement, noted that alumni associations help in fostering a culture of giving back, saying mostly the alumni is the most passionate, portent and sincere giver to the institution because of loyalty to the institution.
According to him, non-Alumni usually see donation as investment and therefore expect some return anyhow.
He suggested that universities should see Alumni Associations as strategic partners, saying where Alumni is represented in the Governing Council of the institution, participation in decision- making would be with strong sense of loyalty, commitment devoid of personal positioning agenda.
He added that Alumni could also help in the realization of institutions’ corporate objectives in a much more cost-and time-effective manner and to provide institutions with valuable, intellectual and human resources.
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