A review of fund allocation to the Nigeria federal university system (1992-2002)

Abstract

The study sought to discover the trend of funding federal universities in Nigeria from 1922-2002.The release of funds during the period ,as issued by the National Universities Commision was the major source of data, which were analysed and presented in tables and graphs. It was found that the funding patter did not give adequate consideration to the requirement of the universities. Allocation to the education sub-sector was rather arbitrarily made. This was so because what each university, on average, got was a far cry from what could meet their needs. Thus, individual university's allocation could hardly cover its staff emoluments and other overheads while a paltry sum of money was always allocated for capital expenditure. To ameliorate the functional crisis in this sub-sector, a number of recommendations were made. These would also curtail wastage and make more money available to the sector. Among these recommendations is the avoidance of duplication of agencies in the education sector. There are currently about 22 such agencies performing overlapping roles.