A don, Prof. Adebisi Balogun, on Thursday, urged universities and other tertiary institutions in the country to deploy workable strategies to improve their financial status rather than depending on allocations from government.
Balogun, a former Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology (FUTA), Akure, said this at a public lecture organised by Ondo State University of Science and Technology (OSUSTECH), Okitipupa.
The don, who identified poor funding as the bane of the education sector, said bridging the huge financial gap by university authorities would improve the quality of higher education in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that lecture was entitled “University Development and Sustainable Financing: The Role of Institutional Advancement’’.
Balogun, who said that funding of universities must not be left in the hands of government alone, added that stimulating education to achieve its responsibilities required injections of adequate funds from all quarters.
He explained that the nation’s universities must be willing to free themselves from outmoded paradigms to enable them achieve meaningful progress in effective and efficient service delivery.
“We must come to the realisation that the universities and other tertiary institutions are vital and powerful drivers of global innovation and economic development.
“ The management, staffers, governing councils and other stakeholders have fundamental roles in sourcing for funds to supplement what the government is providing. Doing so will enable the sector maintain standard and carry out its responsibilities.
“In the last two decades, university education worldwide has moved from the periphery to the centre of government agenda in most countries.
“Universities are expected to play crucial roles in sustainable development, food security, poverty and hunger reduction, moderating gender inequality, reducing illiteracy, insecurity, innovation and curbing corruption,’’ he said.
“As the pace and complexity of our global society increases exponentially, there must be an urgent need to realign the design and infrastructure of education, with considerable attention on the needs of the people.
“This challenge definitely falls on the shoulders of the governing councils, management and other stakeholders to find alternative sources of funding in order to shore up the finances of universities,’’ he said.
The former vice chancellor urged university authorities to build external relationships with alumni associations, donors, community partners, state legislators and other government officials to widen the scope of their revenue generation.
He further said universities could find it profitable to organise meetings, workshops, seminars, conferences and lectures to attract philanthropists to their institutions.
Balogun explained that universities should also use their influences to attract agencies of government in promoting qualitative education.
Earlier, Prof. Sunday Ogunduyile, the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, said that “advancement’’, also known as “educational philanthropy’’ was an age-long concept that had been used to generate funds.
He said that the concept had now snowballed into several components, including fund raising, alumni relations and collaborations with both internal and external contacts in building strong financial base for the university.
“Today’s programme serves the dual purpose of being a springboard towards actualising the mission and vision of the university as well as foster OSUSTECH’s relationship between the “town and gown”,” he said.
