US explores non-govt revenue streams with Vice Chancellors
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Lecturers do not go on strike in Europe and America and other OECD countries – including Canada, Australia, and Japan – because grants, donations, and research funds from sources outside government ensure adequate university funding.
America is stepping in to help stop recurring strikes by Nigerian university lecturers over insufficient funding by organising a conference on such revenue streams that will wean them off handouts from the government.
A two-day conference hosted by the US Consulate in Lagos gathered more than 30 Vice Chancellors from Nigeria’s federal, state, and private universities, plus Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC) officials and five US higher education experts.
They brainstormed on revenue streams and on opportunities for building and sustaining institutional partnerships and ideas for joint degree programs with American universities.
Patrick Bennett, a US higher education expert and Vice President of Academic Quality and Planning at Franklin University, Ohio, shared the American perspective on higher education partnerships and funding.
He discussed best practices in exploring potential revenue streams and resources outside of government funding for higher education and how universities can build and maintain productive relationships with alumni, private sector, and other donor institutions.
“There has been a deeper understanding of each other’s educational systems. Through technology, we have the opportunities to link more universities together in our increasingly globalized world,” Bennett added.
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Long-term partnership
The US Consulate General in Lagos said it mobilized key stakeholders to build long-term partnerships between American and Nigerian institutions of higher education.
It stressed that the US government is committed to supporting initiatives that promote access to quality education and strengthen human capital for inclusive economic growth and development in Nigeria.
US Consulate Public Affairs Officer Stephen Ibelli highlighted the commitment of the US Mission to supporting initiatives that strengthen educational and cultural ties between the two countries on opposite shores of the Atlantic.
He explained that the goal of the conference was to build on the longstanding US-Nigeria educational ties by opening new frontiers of partnerships to enhance quality of learning, teaching and research, as well as bolster the global competitiveness of Nigeria’s higher educational institutions.
“This is a giant step forward,” Ibelli said. “Bringing U.S. and Nigerian universities closer together, exploring future partnerships and discussing ideas for joint degrees with American experts were great outcomes of the higher education conference.”
History of US educational support
The US Mission has a long history of commitment to supporting educational institutions and strengthening an education system that enables students to access quality education throughout Nigeria.
One of the academic exchanges sponsored by Washington is the Fulbright program which enables Nigerian university students and faculty members to engage in collaborative research in American institutions across various academic fields.
Up to 31 Nigerian universities are affiliated with the US Mission on the Fulbright program.
In recent years, Nigeria has received more than 30 scholarships annually for university scholars, including PhD candidates to travel to universities in the US to conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared global challenges.