The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has faulted the N3.52 trillion allocated to the education sector in the 2025 budget presented by President Bola Tinubu, saying that the amount falls far short of expecations.

He said this, yesterday, while speaking as a guest lecturer at the maiden yearly lecture themed “Interrogating Funding of Education: Global versus Nigerian Perspectives” of the Osun State University (UNIOSUN) held at the Olagunsoye Oyinlola Auditorium, Main Campus, Osogbo.

Gbajabiamila, who acknowledged that education is a right and not a privilege of all Nigerians, said that the federal and state governments could not fund qualitative public university education if the system continues to run in its present form.

He said that when compared to other countries of the world, the current budgetary allocation for the education sector in Nigeria falls far below what the nation needs to guarantee a quality education.

The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, while admitting that funding tertiary institutions has remained one of the pressing challenges of the current Nigerian government, said that the reality on the ground is that the federal government and states could not afford to fund qualitative education as required in this modern stage.

He disclosed that there are many bills seeking to establish new universities in the National Assembly as “every legislator is desirous of having a university in his constituency.”

According to him, the proliferation of universities is inevitable when constituents start mounting pressures on their representatives for them to facilitate universities in their constituencies, saying that to this end, “we end up sacrificing qualitative education to quantitative education.”

He, therefore, urged Nigerians to desist from anticipating free education, saying: “Nothing is ever free unless we want to deceive ourselves.”

He said that Nigerian public universities are fast dwindling and could be likened to diploma-offering institutions.

He said that other countries were able to subsidise education for their citizens through the high fees being paid by international students.

He, therefore, called on university authorities to formulate policies that could boost the enrolment of international students in their institutions.

Besides, Gbajabiamila, however, identified healthy collaboration with the private sector and an attractive profile as key towards improving the economic growth of tertiary institutions in the country.

He, therefore, stressed the need for universities to effectively shore up their profile to attract foreign students with a view to generating more funds needed to aid their financial capacities.

Gbajabiamila also called for reform of the curriculum, universities embracing a culture of zero-tolerance for unethical conduct, plagiarism, sexual harassment, and that they must establish a culture of excellence within the university system.

He charged university authorities to engage in profitable businesses and other undertakings that would generate revenue for the institutions.

Meanwhile, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, in his address, commended Gbajabiamila, saying that UNIOSUN is experiencing steady progress and transformational leadership.

Earlier in his address of welcome, the Vice-Chancellor of UNIOSUN, Prof. Clement Adebooye, described the lecture as a bold step by the university to shape national policy conversations and reposition higher education through strategic intellectual engagement.