The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, has directed Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian public universities to reduce their heavy dependence on government allocations by strengthening institutional fundraising structures and expanding alternative sources of financing.
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Alausa gave the directive at the National Advancement Forum 2026, where he expressed concern that only four of Nigeria’s 68 federal universities were making meaningful use of funding opportunities such as research grants, endowments, alumni contributions, philanthropy and partnerships with industry.
According to the minister, the situation is no longer sustainable, particularly at a time when universities require significant resources for laboratories, scholarships, research, innovation and infrastructure.
“Government funding is not enough. Universities live, function and excel on blended funding,” Alausa said.
He urged Vice-Chancellors to move beyond simply administering statutory allocations and make resource mobilisation a core responsibility of university leadership.
Alausa said universities should deliberately cultivate relationships with alumni, private companies, philanthropists, prominent individuals, research funding organisations and other partners capable of supporting institutional development.
He stressed, however, that the push for alternative funding did not mean the Federal Government was withdrawing financial support from universities.
According to him, the government continues to pay personnel costs in full, while universities retain 75 per cent of their internally generated revenue and also benefit from direct and special interventions from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
He said those existing funding arrangements should provide a foundation upon which universities build stronger and more sustainable financing systems.
As part of the reforms, Alausa directed that Advancement Offices in universities should report directly to the offices of the Vice-Chancellors rather than to Registrars.
He also instructed the Vice-Chancellors present at the forum to communicate the directive immediately to their respective institutions.
The minister further directed that Directors of Advancement should have a minimum internal tenure of five years, renewable where appropriate, to enable them to develop long-term relationships with donors, alumni, industries and other funding partners.
“Advancement Office operation is a professional job,” Alausa said, describing officials working in such offices as professional fundraisers who require adequate institutional support and stability to produce results.
He also urged universities to place greater emphasis on alumni engagement by creating functional graduate databases and using technology to maintain relationships with former students in Nigeria and abroad.
According to him, effective alumni systems would enable institutions to identify and mobilise graduates as long-term partners in research, infrastructure, scholarships and other development programmes.
Alausa recalled that some research and endowment funds had previously been placed under the Treasury Single Account, a development he said created difficulties in accessing the funds and weakened confidence in their management.
He said President Bola Tinubu subsequently directed that a framework be developed to allow research and endowment accounts to be moved from the TSA to commercial banks selected by the institutions.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has met you beyond halfway. He has given you the leverage and the opportunity to do your jobs well. You must now take advantage of it,” Alausa told the Vice-Chancellors.
The minister expressed disappointment that many universities had yet to fully take advantage of the opportunities created by the policy changes, warning that institutions which fail to diversify their funding sources risk limiting their capacity for sustained growth, academic excellence and research.
He disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education, working with the Nigerian Higher Education Foundation, would develop a comprehensive national framework for sustainable financing of tertiary institutions.
The proposed framework would cover endowment governance, research grants, Advancement Office structures, alumni giving, industry partnerships, philanthropy incentives, revenue management, accountability and transparency.
Under the plan, public universities would be progressively brought into the framework, with each institution expected to establish effective advancement structures, build endowments, maintain functional alumni databases, strengthen research funding capacity and develop stronger partnerships with industry and philanthropists.
Alausa stressed that accountability would be central to the arrangement, noting that donors, alumni, businesses and research organisations would only continue supporting institutions where they have confidence in the management of funds.
He clarified that the initiative was not designed to replace government funding or force universities to depend entirely on internally generated revenue, but to establish diversified funding systems that complement government support and strengthen long-term academic sustainability.
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