ALTERNATIVE FUNDING OF NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES FOR FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Abstract

This work is focused on alternative funding of Nigerian universities for financial sustainability in the 21st century. A common challenge faced by Nigerian public universities in the 21st century is the inability to source for alternative means of funding as a substitute to government funding. Thus, this paper looks at the fact that several innovative means of funding can be utilized by universities in Nigeria to increase their revenue stream and contribute to sustainability in their finances. As such, emphasis is laid on the need for universities to engage in business and form strong partnerships in order to secure funding for maintenance, wages and more expenses universities are likely to incur. Leveraging different alternatives to government support can reduce the dependency on governments since they are not the always a reliable source of funding for universities. Hence, this paper provides an introduction which investigates the need for alternative funding sources for universities and how they can contribute to sustainability in the modern world. Afterwards, a literature review which probes into the current research on funding, accountability, this paper’s topic is explored under the sub headings of alternative resource management and financial sustainability. Some issues of this topic are discussed to include overreliance on government funding, lack of accountability and failure to form partnerships. A conclusion is made to show that it is possible to achieve sustainable funding for universities but it necessitates an approach on diversification, innovation and partnership. Finally, suitable suggestions are made in line with the stated issues