By Omoyeni Ojeifo
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has directed public universities to give Directors of Advancement a minimum five-year internal tenure to strengthen fundraising and long-term relationships with donors and other partners.
The directive was issued at the National Advancement Forum 2026, where Alausa challenged Vice-Chancellors to strengthen their institutions’ resource mobilisation and diversify funding beyond government allocations.
The Minister revealed that only four of the 68 federal universities were currently making meaningful use of alternative funding opportunities, including research grants, endowments, alumni giving, philanthropy and industry partnerships.
Describing the situation as unacceptable, he maintained that resource mobilisation should become a core responsibility of university leadership because government allocations alone cannot provide everything universities need to function and excel.
“Government funding is not enough. Universities live, function and excel on blended funding,” Alausa declared.
According to him, Directors of Advancement need sufficient time in office to build relationships with donors, alumni, industry and research funders, with their tenure renewable where appropriate.
“Advancement Office operation is a professional job,” the Minister declared, describing advancement officers as professional fundraisers who require the support, stability and confidence of university management.
The Minister further directed all university Advancement Offices to report directly to the Office of the Vice-Chancellor rather than the Registrar.
“Vice-Chancellors are also directed at the forum to communicate the directive to their respective institutions immediately.” he said.
The Minister urged university leaders to leverage their institutions’ intellectual capital and develop relationships with prominent individuals, alumni, businesses, philanthropists and research funders.
“Such resources, could support laboratories, scholarships, research chairs, innovation programmes and other areas critical to academic development,” he explained.
Alausa clarified that the push for diversified funding did not amount to government withdrawing its support from public universities.
He pointed to significant budgetary allocations, investments in tertiary infrastructure and other interventions by the Tinubu administration, alongside the Federal Government’s continued payment of university personnel costs in full.
He explained that the Federal Government currently funds personnel costs in full, while universities retain 75 per cent of their internally generated revenue and benefit from direct and special interventions by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund.
These measures, according to him, provide a foundation which universities must complement with diversified, sustainable and resilient funding sources.
The Minister also urged universities to strengthen alumni engagement by building functional databases and using technology to maintain lifelong relationships with graduates locally and globally.
He described effective alumni systems as strategic rather than occasional, stressing the importance of maintaining lasting relationships with graduates.
Alausa recalled that before the current administration, some research and endowment funds had been moved into the Treasury Single Account, TSA, creating access challenges and affecting confidence in the resources.
He disclosed that President Tinubu had directed the development of a framework allowing research and endowment accounts to move out of the TSA to commercial banks of choice.
According to the Minister, the arrangement would provide greater flexibility and confidence in managing research and endowment resources.
“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 also disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education and the Nigerian Higher Education Foundation, NHF, would develop a comprehensive national framework for sustainable tertiary financing.
He explained that the framework would move beyond training and capacity building to address the broader financing needs of public universities.
It would cover endowment governance, accountability, research grants, Advancement Office structures, alumni giving, industry partnerships, philanthropy incentives, revenue management and transparency.
“All public universities would be progressively onboarded into the framework,”he stated.
“Each institution would be expected to build an endowment, establish an effective Advancement Office structure, maintain a functional alumni database and strengthen its research funding capacity,”he added.
According to the minister, universities would also be expected to develop productive partnerships with industry, philanthropists and other strategic partners.
He also emphasised that accountability and transparency must remain central to advancement, noting that donors, alumni, businesses and research funders would only sustain support for institutions they trust.
“The objective is not to replace government funding or make universities dependent solely on internally generated revenue, but to establish diversified and resilient financing systems that complement government support,” he stated.
The Federal Ministry of Education would provide policy direction and an enabling environment, while university leaders would be expected to take greater responsibility for mobilising resources, the minister reiterated.
Alausa urged university leaders to use the opportunities available to build stronger research funding, alumni, industry and philanthropic partnerships capable of supporting academic excellence over the long term.
Author
Leave a comment