A review of the 2022 budgeted expenditure of top tertiary institutions in the country reveals heavy recurrent spendings and very light capital expenditures
For 2022, Obafemi Awolowo University has a budget of N12.005 billion. Of this figure, N11.198 billion is earmarked for personnel cost, N173.248 million for overhead cost and N633.634 million for capital expenditure. Only 5.2% of the institution’s budget is earmarked for capital expenditures.
The University of Benin has a total budget of N17.823 billion. Of this figure, N16.859 billion is earmarked for personnel cost while recurrent cost is N171.850 million and capital expenditure is N791.989 million. The capital expenditure represents 1.06% of the total budget.
In University of Jos, a total sum of N12.050 billion was budgeted for the 2022 fiscal year, N11.346 million is targeted as personnel cost while N544.758 million is targeted for capital expenditure.
The Federal Polytechnic Nekede, has a budget of N6.078 billion out of which N5.472 billion is for personnel expenditure and N461.575 million is for capital expenditure, representing 8.4% of the total expenditure.
Federal Polytechnic Auchi has a total budget of N5.946 billion with a capital expenditure of N504.236 million, also representing 8.4% of the total budget.
Capital expenditure in Tertiary Institutions cover essentially infrastructural projects like Lecture theatres, hostels and other learning facilities.
TETFund Capital Interventions ‘Inadequate’
With a little percentage of total expenditure in Tertiary Institutions going to capital expenditure, these institutions have been banking on the Tertiary Education Fund. A program aimed at the onset to serve as an intervention for tertiary institutions.
The fund was enacted through the Education Tax No7 of January, 1993
The Decree imposed a 2% tax on the assessable profits of all companies in Nigeria.
Since its inception, many projects on Nigerian campuses have been credited to the fund.
However, there have been concerns that over-reliance on TETFund for capital development of tertiary institutions may not serve the country well.
Former Vice Chancellor of the Tai Solarin University of Education, Professor Oluyemisi Obilade, told Dataphyte that there is a need for stakeholders to sit and analyse how funding tertiary education including universities can be achieved.
She noted that it is not a decision that can be reached by one person but by stakeholders.
Professor Oluyemisi noted that the issue of funding has become a core issue, wondering what would happen if TETFund were stopped, she said this while noting that there is a need to augment what is obtainable from the education tax.
“It would surprise you that even research in schools is funded through TETFund but the worry here is what we would do without TETFund”.
She noted that not addressing developmental needs of these institutions have left Tertiary education in the country limping and as such there is a need to have a solution with input from stakeholders on how exactly the country wants to go about its challenge of resolving infrastructural and funding needs.
Prof Oluyemisi also expresses concern that these issues, left untackled, affect the quality of education offered on Nigerian Campuses.
The former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Idowu Olayinka, also told Dataphyte that there is a need to look at better funding for Universities.
He cited an instance where TETFund is relied upon for capital projects yet the country keeps establishing new Tertiary institutions in spite of the inability to fund existing ones.
He advocated that a partnership be encouraged between universities and beneficiaries of Tertiary education to ensure that what students pay can also support developmental efforts on campus.
He noted that although universities rely on grants, alumni support, for carrying out projects, there is a need to look at ways of funding Tertiary institutions realistically.
According to him, while there is demand for quality on campuses, quality comes with demand for funds and this reality Nigeria needs to know how to tackle.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)had earlier warned that there is a need to ensure re-alignment of TETfund to its core functions, which the body states bothers on intervention.
“TETFUND has become a principal funding for projects in university campuses. TETFUND is supposed to be an intervention agency and not a primary source, although some agents are out to derail the organisation.” the Union was quoted as saying.
More Capital Expenditure, a core need to be Addressed
Nigerian universities have in the past been advised to source for funding from alternate sources, a development that has not materialised, as the country’s tertiary institutions continue to suffer under-funding and neglect.
Although there have been clamours for introduction of other intervention funds for Tertiary education infrastructural development , the country has not been able to achieve that.
As of the time of this report, Universities in the country are shut.
At various times, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics have also gone on strike, shutting down Polytechnics in the country. These developments are usually due to disagreements over funding of universities and provisions for lecturers welfare.
While the demand for more funding is legitimate and valid, there must be a reverse in the spending patterns with more investments in capital rather than recurrent expenditure, when there is increased funding.