Proposing that the National Universities Commission (NUC) should be solely in charge of managing the finances of public universities in addition to its regulatory duties, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has called for a structural overhaul in the management of university budgets.
In an interview on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande that aired on Channels Television, Oloyede—who was previously the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin—made this claim.
University education is extremely delicate and should be run by professionals rather than being influenced by politics, he underlined.
Oloyede claimed that the existing system, which involves individual universities lobbying the National Assembly for budget allocations, favors schools more for their political connections than for their actual educational requirements.
NUC ought to be in charge of university funding.
“We still have time to re-engineer the situation so that we have what we need.” The funding mechanism needs to be examined. For instance, the institutions should be managed by the National institutions Commission (NUC). Oloyede stated, “Assign management of the universities to the National Universities Commission.”
He recalled the period when the NUC was actively monitoring university budgets, while he served as Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors.
Instead of allowing each university to defend its budget in front of lawmakers separately, he said, it would be more beneficial for universities to have autonomy if the NUC were permitted to coordinate funding and management.
Every university now submits its defense and budget to the National Assembly, and the more you can do, the more will be decided, he continued.
University Budgeting Based on Data
In order to distribute funds equitably, Oloyede pointed out that the NUC used data-driven measures, such as student enrollment by discipline, while managing university budgets. Instead of using political lobbying, this strategy made sure that resources were allocated according to real needs.
It doesn’t matter if you know someone or not. The NUC will decide on the parameters, such as the number of pupils. And the NUC will defend before the Ministry of Education and the National Assembly,” he clarified.
He bemoaned the drop in financing for capital expansion, blaming it on the rise in support workers at colleges, which he says has resulted in financial inefficiencies.
Connecting University Funding and Enrollment
According to Prof. Oloyede’s output-based funding model, universities get compensated depending on how many students they teach in each subject.
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Given the way we are funding and operating, I think we may eventually reach a point where we ask, “University of Abuja, you are producing XY medical doctors. What does it take to teach one medical doctor? This is the quota that you have been assigned. Thus, we now determine (the quantity). Your capital and ongoing expenses will not be our concern. Additionally, we would have conducted study to determine the amount,” he stated.
Instead of more institutions, Nigeria needs better universities.
The JAMB Registrar also took issue with the growth of new universities, stating that the government need to concentrate on enlarging and improving already-existing ones rather than establishing new ones.
He drew attention to a concerning pattern in which politicians build new universities as a kind of political reparation to underprivileged groups rather than establishing firms and industries that would generate employment and stimulate the economy.
Oloyede asserts that improving infrastructure, rerouting resources to support already-existing universities, and making sure that funds are allocated appropriately would all greatly raise the standard of higher education in Nigeria.
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