Nigerian spend N160b yearly in two Ghanaian varsities, says don

Despite agitation by university authorities in Nigeria for adequate funding. Nigerian parents and guardians spend about N160 billion annually as fees for their wards in two Ghanaian universities.

This disclosure was made in Port Harcourt by the former Vice-Chancellor (VC), University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), Prof Nimi Briggs at a three-day retreat organized for members of the Governing Council of the rivers State University of science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt.

This figure, Briggs noted, is far in excess of what both the federal and state governments release to universities in Nigeria.

In his lecture titled An Overview of University Administration in Nigeria, he listed some challenges confronting the Nigerian University system to include corrupt, poor funding, management, cultism and proliferation of unions.

The former VC also cautioned on the way admission is offered to some students while the activities of unions must not be allowed to conflict with university academic calendars.

He added that individual university governing councils have the responsibility of tackling the challenges in their respective institutions.

In a paper titled “The Role of the Governing Council in University administration”, the former Governing Council Chairman of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Prof Sylvanus Cookey, stressed the need for depoliticisation of appointment of governing council members.

Cookey charged council members to seek innovative and creative ways of increasing internally-generated revenue while exploring external funding options as universities need to develop resourceful ways of rebranding to win public confidence.

“The primary role of the council is to elevate the reputation of the university and not to subject it to public disdain or opprobrium because the guiding principle is the upliftment of the institution,” he said.

In addition, he said that it behooves on the council to demand full accountability from the VC and his team to ensure growth of the institution.