Professor Olu Obafemi’s pleasant pleasures continue to tempt us. And what can I say? You should keep dating and remember his thoughtful thoughts, which we all need right now. We should do so without resentment or toxic anger.
University funding is on the decline
For decades, and especially in the past two decades, federal university funding and federal university funding have been reduced to a combination of nostalgia and previous year allocations, despite unfulfilled government promises. Due to growing alarming concerns about the return of foreign nationals, the population continues to decline without stopping. Increase funding for education, especially higher education.
Educators and trade unions continue to cite UNESCO's minimum standard of 26%. – or at least between 15 and 20 percent.
The table shows the decline in national budget allocation to education. For example, GS Halidu (2015) provided a graphic depiction of the decline in university funding based on a study and evaluation of the experience of Ahmadu Bello University, where there was a serious shortfall in university allocation during the 1975/76 session. A history of declining university spending in Nigeria that will not be reversed.
Although Gambo et al. may be disguising the increase from 221.01 million Naira in 2009 to 805.8 million Naira, reflecting a persistent slump in education budget allocation from 2009 to 2018. , actually decreased by 7.25 percent from 2009 in percentage terms to 7.03 percent. In reality, in recent years, education has accounted for far less than 10 percent of the country's annual budget.
During the last renegotiation exercise, then President Buhari announced at the ECOWAS meeting his intention to increase the federal allocation for education to 15-20 per cent. But when you compare this statement with the government's refusal to accept just over 10 percent of our recommendations, the insincerity in governance, if not deceit, becomes evident. This is supported by the fact that throughout the entire Buhari administration, the budget allocation was less than 8% of his.
Some of the factors characterizing government attitudes towards education funding need to be reassessed.
The brutal anti-intellectualism of the military, which constantly intervened in the political life of the country. From 1966 he ruled the country under military rule until 1979, followed by less than four years (1979-1983) of civilian democracy. He ruled again from 1984 to 1999. Despite the large influx of oil during the oil boom, education suffered the most under the military.
Most of the rulers since then have worn civilian garb but are warlords in nature, character and temperament (with the exception of the brief reigns of Yar'Adua, Jonathan and the current president, who were essentially civilian politicians) ).
The disdainful attitude and mannerisms of government officials toward university education, beginning with the period when Gowon (with comical ignorance) arrogantly removed his vice-chancellor's hat to make a mendication show, echoed the military rulers' disdain for education. This is the epitome of contempt. Halidu (2015) cited Okebukola (2002) on the negative impact of inadequate funding on “working conditions, severe lack of research and learning facilities for both staff and students, and attrition of academic staff through brainpower.” , the status of university education in Nigeria). The leak has resulted in unchecked and fundamental corruption in the university system, especially at the social, infrastructural and intellectual levels.
Today's large-scale human flight, especially from universities, took root over two disastrous decades. He was diagnosed separately by Arikewuyo (2008) and Sanni (2009) from 1977 to 1997. The apt metaphor of “you can't go home on a take-home pay'' and the sycophancy of a boss who pays you a ridiculous salary has resulted in a devastating socio-economic situation. Wag, a term coined by ASUU, remains today as a proverbial reality of the grossly inadequate welfare of university teachers.
We all live with the profound poverty of our nation's university workers today in our bones. The truth is, as I have previously stated in Gombe (2014), that “governments’ perceptions of where they should be on the global economic scale and how to prepare educational outcomes to get there There appears to be no correlation between the two.The proportion of national budgets allocated to education is grossly inadequate.
For example, in 2012, NOK 415 billion, or 8.43 percent of the budget, was allocated to education. The 2013 budget, titled “Fiscal consolidation with inclusive growth,” shows some growth. A total of N4.98 trillion was proposed. Of this forecast, the education sector received a quota of 426.53 billion, representing 8.7%. This is significantly different from the international standard for developing countries (26%).
When compared against the background of performance by some other countries in terms of the amount expected to be spent on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by UNESCO, Nigeria lags behind other countries. For example, Ghana allocated 31 percent of its annual budget to education, South Africa 25.8 percent, Cortedo 30 percent, Kenya 23 percent, and Morocco 17.7 percent (Olu Obafemi, cited in Abayomi (2012)).
What is even more alarming is that instead of increasing, recurrent expenditure on education was found to have consistently decreased since 2000, registering 12.56 percent. 2002 -11.56%. 2011 – 10 minutes 56%.
Since then, up until now in 2024, we have seen other allocations, the only feature of which is a constant drawback. This is not meant to be a political manifesto or a pious declaration of socio-economic aspirations based on a sound educational foundation. Please excuse this small digression.
The Obasanjo administration is usually cited for a period of significant improvement in workers' pay, but just like President Buhari's most exaggerated defamation, it has not been able to withstand collective bargaining. Arbitrary allocations were made to universities regarding the remaining workforce. A compilation of the results of negotiations with university labor organizations during his reign.
The military oligarchs collectively destroyed the university system, no matter what cloak they were under. Civilian democracies in the federal government have fared better than the military in funding universities since the Third Republic until now (1999 to his 2023), as exemplified by the numbers above. It's not like that. Maybe their performance was bad.
The current government's promise of a new era of hope was heartwarming. But that was before the 2024 budget and spending were released in December 2023. The International Center for Research Reporting provided reliable but disappointing data that the budget allocation for education in 2024 will be less than 7 percent.
The proposed net budget was pegged at 24.8 trillion naira, of which the education sector received 1.4 trillion naira or 5.98% (note that taxes and value added taxes are deducted from the net budget) there is). President Tinubu worked hard to raise the budget allocation from “just 5 percent'' to “25 percent,'' reflecting his commitment to prioritizing education as a national policy.
This breathtaking disclosure was made by the Federal Minister of Education on behalf of the President on Monday, August 11, 2023, to ensure that the government announced new and creative ways to finance education that support Nigeria's commitment to capacity. promised to start. To achieve the goals of Nigeria's Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
There is little connection between this rosy picture painted here and the dark reality of education budgets. President Tinubu clearly has good intentions, but his actions are currently flawed and new hope needs to be embodied in the actual policies and activities he brings to governance.
to be continued.
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