The Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, CVCNU, has pointed out inadequate funding as one of the major challenges militating against effective growth and global ranking of public universities in Nigeria.
The Secretary-General of CVCNU, Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, said this on Thursday in Abuja at a “Workshop for Advancement and Alumni Officers.”
He said there was the need for cost-sharing based on what was needed to train a student in the university.
The event which had the theme: “Institutional Advancement, Alumni Relations and University Education in Nigeria” was organised by CVCNU in partnership with the Conference of Alumni Association of Nigerian Universities, CAANU.
He revealed that the committee was able to bring out figures about what was needed to train a student in a university, including public universities.
According to him, there were still gaps in the cost-sharing ratio between the government and the individual student.
He pointed out that to train one medical student in a university takes about N5 billion.
“To train one medical student in a university costs about N5 billion, even in the public university, it costs about N5 billion. So what is the cost-sharing ratio between government and individuals in public universities?
“So, if the government wants to take responsibility for the training of the student, it should pay the 5 billion naira so the university can use it to run its operations. You cannot give a Vice-Chancellor N3 million and say go and manage,” he said.
