The National Vice President of the Literacy Promotion Association of Nigeria (LiPAN), Prof. Ibiere Ken-Maduako, has expressed deep concern over the poor funding of university education and other public schools across Nigeria, describing the situation as “untenable for any system seeking global competitiveness.”
Speaking with our correspondent in Port Harcourt, Prof. Ken-Maduako, who also serves as Dean, Faculty of Humanities, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Rumuolumeni, lamented that Nigeria’s public universities are facing a funding crisis that threatens their core mission of producing quality graduates and fostering research-driven national development.
She noted that most of Nigeria’s celebrated elites are products of public universities, yet the same institutions today are being starved of critical resources needed for survival.
“Nigeria’s public universities are grappling with chronic underinvestment. The National Universities Commission (NUC) has identified inadequate funding, infrastructure deficit, staff shortage, poor research capacity, and weak university-industry linkages as factors stifling the system,” she said.
According to Prof. Ken-Maduako, subventions from federal and state governments have become grossly insufficient, forcing several institutions to rely on external donors, irregular revenue streams, and, in some cases, tuition increases to stay afloat.
She warned that the financial strain has begun to affect students directly.
“Students themselves are being squeezed. At campuses in Port Harcourt and Calabar, rising transportation, accommodation, and food costs are already impacting attendance, performance, and mental wellness,” she explained.
Describing the situation as “a ticking time bomb for Nigeria’s educational competitiveness,” Prof. Ken-Maduako called for urgent, collaborative intervention to rescue the sector.
She further commended PH Mundial Newspaper, a Port Harcourt-based online media outfit, for its consistent editorial focus on education and public sector issues, saying such journalistic commitment helps sustain public attention on education reforms.
“The media spotlight is essential to generate policy momentum. PH Mundial’s coverage of the crisis in Nigerian universities is commendable and necessary,” she added.
Prof. Ken-Maduako, a professor of Pragmatics in Communication, urged the federal and state governments to grant universities greater financial autonomy, allowing them to manage resources effectively, attract partnerships, and explore innovative income-generating ventures.
“Student welfare must be prioritised — transportation, accommodation, mental health, and basic living costs cannot be ignored if learning is to flourish,” she stated.
The LiPAN Vice President also proposed the establishment of a multi-stakeholder taskforce involving government agencies, universities, student unions, labour groups, civil society, and the media to monitor reform progress and ensure accountability.
“A multi-stakeholder taskforce should be constituted to monitor reform progress and report publicly. Education reform is too critical to be left solely to bureaucratic processes,” she emphasized.
LiPAN Decries Poor Funding of Varsity Education in Nigeria, reinforcing a growing national call for renewed investment, policy innovation, and accountability in the education sector.
