By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has directed Vice Chancellors of federal universities to rebuild and properly staff their Advancement Offices, warning that no university can survive on government funding alone.
Alausa issued the directive in a statement reacting to the low turnout of Vice Chancellors at the Nigeria Higher Education Foundation (NHEF) National University Advancement Programme Forum a day earlier, where only 18 of the country’s Vice Chancellors were present.
He noted that of Nigeria’s 78 federal universities, only 30 had participated in the FME-NHEF Advancement Programme, describing the turnout as disappointing given the programme’s importance to the financial sustainability of the universities.
The Minister recalled that since assuming office, he had repeatedly urged universities to strengthen their Advancement Offices and diversify funding, stressing that institutions were sitting on enormous untapped opportunities through alumni networks, research grants, philanthropy, endowments and private-sector partnerships.
He said too many universities had deprioritised the structures needed to unlock these resources.
Alausa disclosed that he had charged Vice Chancellors to place their Advancement Offices directly under the Office of the Vice Chancellor, equip advancement professionals with the stability, access and support required to function, and fully utilise the training and platform provided by NHEF.
“This is no longer a suggestion. It is a mandate,” he said.
He said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had made clear that the administration would not renege on its commitment to education, but stressed that sourcing additional funding remained part of every Vice Chancellor’s responsibility.
He described blended financing, comprising research grants, alumni contributions, philanthropy, private-sector investment and endowment funds, as the path toward greater university autonomy, noting that the ministry was not reinventing the wheel but adapting global best practices to the Nigerian context.
The Minister commended Wale Adeosun, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kuramo Capital Management, and the NHEF team for their continued partnership with the ministry in re-establishing and strengthening Advancement Offices across federal universities.
Alausa told Vice Chancellors that the era of waiting for government to fund everything must end, charging them to build the structures, mobilise resources and strengthen their institutions as part of their legacy.
