TETFund Boss Decries Public Universities Over-Dependence On Govt, As UNN Graduates 12,962 Students

The Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, has lamented the over-dependence of public universities on government, urging for a new model of sustainable funding that would help them fulfill their mandate.

Echono made the call while delivering a lecture on “University autonomy and the challenge of sustainable education funding in Nigeria,” during the 51st Convocation of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Enugu State on Saturday.

The TETFund boss stated that the future of university education in Nigeria lies in sustainable funding and explained the need to explore innovative and sustainable funding models for university education in the country.

“A regime of declining revenue and rising corruption manifests in deteriorating infrastructure and poor remuneration for lecturers.

“The incessant industrial actions over the last few years by staff unions in our universities, bordering on challenges of funding, has heightened the need to explore innovative, sustainable funding which implies rethinking stakeholders’ involvement in education financing to secure a qualitative and functional tertiary education system, which is an essential tool for sustainable development,” he said.

The TETFund boss proposed for universities to dig deep into research and development while ensuring effective linkage and collaboration with industry towards the commercialisation of their research output to generate revenue and sustain the system.

Echono added that universities could go into the core business of education delivery, research, and services such as consultancy, clinical medical services, agribusiness, technology parks, and innovation hubs adding that those services will generate surplus revenue for the institutions.

“Our universities should be encouraged and supported to seek alternative and additional revenue sources by developing a range of pathways and mechanisms, including ventures related to their services that would be self-financing to generate surplus to the university and similar initiatives,” he said.

The Vice-Chancellor of UNN, Prof Charles Igwe, explained that the convocation grants the school the opportunity of conferring the Bachelor’s degree and Diploma of the university on deserving graduates of the 2020/2021 class.

He disclosed that of the 12,962 graduating students, 11,444 would receive first degrees, 67 will receive diplomas, while 1,451 would receive postgraduate degrees for the 2022/2023 academic session.

Igwe added 288 graduated with a First Class, 4,853 graduated with the Second Class Honours (Upper Division) while 5,077 graduated with the Second Class (Lower Division).