The Association of Bursars of Nigerian Universities on Wednesday, decried poor funding for universities in the country.

The association also revealed that Nigeria still lagged in UNESCO’s minimum funding threshold of 15 per cent of budgetary allocation to education.

The association, therefore, called for a mixed model of funding for the universities, and also demanded tax exemption for the education sector in the country.

Speaking at the unveiling and official launch of the official magazine of the association- the University Exchequer, in Abuja, the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Monday Onyeme, noted that the rising enrollment of students annually overstretches the meagre resources of the universities.

Onyeme, a former Bursar of the National Open University of Nigeria, said lack of funds has led to frequent industrial actions either by the academic staff or the non-academic staff or both, stressing that this is why students prefer private universities because they can predict their graduation time, as opposed to the situation in public universities where timelines are uncertain due to industrial actions.

He added that poor funding has led to poor research outcomes, stating that when research is not well-funded, the outcome will also be poor.

He stressed that the absence of funds for proper maintenance of existing infrastructure has led to infrastructural decay on most university campuses.

To address this, Oyeme advocated a mixed funding model, stressing that today’s bursars are not mere administrators but must become visionaries of financial transformation.

He stated, “If you go to some universities, you will see some old infrastructures that are decayed and abandoned because resources are unavailable to sustain or maintain them. The solution to this is a mixed funding model; we do not want to depend on just one source of income. We must be able to have the capacity to look at all the various sources of funding and put up a mixed model that suits a particular institution.

“We must transition to a mixed funding model, a strategic blend of transitional and innovative revenue streams tailored to each university’s context. It is a paradigm shift we must embrace. First, we must pressure the government to increase funding to universities to at least meet the UNESCO minimum standard. We should not get tired of pressuring the government, especially the National Assembly, so that the minimum benchmark of at least 15 per cent is met.

“We can draw out a programme for the government to gradually increase the budgetary allocation to education over a period of time, maybe over five years. Since we have achieved 7 per cent, we can make it 9 per cent by 2026, make it 11 per cent by 2027, and so on, till we get to that minimum standard of 15 per cent threshold.

“The second source of funding that we are advocating for in this mixed model is an endowment fund and alumni engagement. We must make a deliberate effort to establish endowment offices for structured fundraising.”

The former Vice Chancellor of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Prof. Muhammad Mainoma, called on the government to make all education matters tax-free, noting that “that will solve the issue of tax taking part of the government intervention funds to the universities.”

He, however, advised bursars to judiciously manage the scarce resources available to them.

He urged them to “Adhere to strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, accountability, revenue diversification, technology adoption, budget discipline, up-to-date reporting, regulatory compliance, stakeholder engagement, audit readiness, and risk management.”

In her welcome remarks, the Chairman of the Association, Dr. Hadiza Goje, said that bursars are custodians of trust.

Goje likened the role of bursars in the university to the role of an engine in a car, saying, “No matter how beautiful a car is, if the engine is faulty, then the car cannot move.”