Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, has charged Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian public universities to urgently diversify their institutions’ funding sources, warning that government allocations alone cannot sustain universities or guarantee long-term academic excellence.
Alausa gave the charge on Tuesday at the National Advancement Forum 2026, where he expressed concern that only four of Nigeria’s 68 federal universities were currently making meaningful use of alternative funding opportunities such as research grants, endowments, alumni contributions, philanthropy and partnerships with industry.
He described the situation as unacceptable, urging Vice-Chancellors to make resource mobilisation a central responsibility of university leadership rather than relying almost exclusively on government funding.
ALSO READ: Police arrest 20 over Sokoto protest demanding Mai Barewa’s release
“Government funding is not enough. Universities live, function and excel on blended funding,” the Minister said.
According to him, university leaders must move beyond the administration of government allocations and actively build relationships with alumni, businesses, philanthropists, prominent individuals and research funders capable of supporting institutional development.
Alausa noted that Vice-Chancellors in advanced university systems were actively involved in networking and fundraising, stressing that Nigerian university leaders must adopt similar approaches by leveraging their institutions’ intellectual capital to attract resources.
He said such resources could support laboratories, scholarships, research chairs, innovation programmes, infrastructure and other strategic priorities.
The Minister, however, stressed that the call for diversified funding did not amount to a withdrawal of government support, noting that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had demonstrated strong commitment to education through increased budgetary provisions, tertiary infrastructure investments and other interventions.
He explained that the Federal Government currently bears personnel costs in full, while universities retain 75 per cent of their internally generated revenue and continue to benefit from interventions by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
“These provide a strong foundation which universities must complement with diversified, sustainable and resilient sources of funding,” he said.
As part of measures to strengthen resource mobilisation, Alausa directed that Advancement Offices in all universities should report directly to the Office of the Vice-Chancellor rather than the Registrar.
He directed Vice-Chancellors attending the forum to communicate the directive to their respective institutions immediately.
The Minister also directed that Directors of Advancement should have a minimum internal tenure of five years, renewable where appropriate, to enable them to establish and maintain long-term relationships with donors, alumni, industry players and other funding partners.
“Advancement Office operation is a professional job,” he said, describing advancement officers as professional fundraisers who require stability, institutional backing and the confidence of university management to deliver results.
Alausa further urged universities to strengthen alumni engagement by developing functional databases and deploying appropriate technology to maintain lifelong relationships with graduates in Nigeria and across the world.
He said a functional alumni system was critical to identifying, engaging and mobilising graduates as long-term partners in institutional development.
The Minister stressed that alumni engagement should no longer be treated as an occasional activity but as a strategic component of university advancement and financing.
Alausa also recalled that before the present administration, some research and endowment funds had been moved into the Treasury Single Account, TSA, creating difficulties around access and raising concerns over the management and utilisation of such resources.
He said President Tinubu subsequently directed the development of a framework that allows research and endowment accounts to be moved out of the TSA to commercial banks of choice.
According to him, the policy has created greater flexibility and confidence in the management of funds raised by universities for research and institutional development.