The Association of Registrars of Nigerian Universities (ARNU) has stated that inadequate funding, as well as lack of political will, had adversely impacted the Nigerian university system.

The Registrars, while emphasising that funding of university education in the country should be a multi-stakeholder arrangement, stressed the need to introduce innovative ideas that would advance the frontiers of tertiary institutions.

The ARNU stated this in a communiqué issued after its 19th yearly retreat and 76th business meeting held at Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, with the theme: “Navigating the Challenging Terrain of University Administration in Nigeria: Retrospection into the Future.”

According to the communiqué, the key elements for addressing the challenges in the Nigerian university system must be to focus on strategic planning and ensure financial independence through diversification of revenue streams.

The Registrars maintained that “poor governance and unstable leadership were identified as bedevilling the Nigerian university system, and to address the problems, universities must evolve sustainable development goals that would ensure optimal performance.

The communiqué reads in part: “Government and university leaders or managers are advised to build consensus and employ the use of mediation and collaborative decision-making as veritable instruments of mitigating crisis in the Nigerian university system.

“The funding challenges in the universities are perennial. This has resulted in various crises bedevilling the system and weakening the attainment of university goals.

“Funding university education in Nigeria should therefore be a multi-stakeholders business for the universities to attain their mandate and global competitiveness.”

On his part, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Chris Maiyaki, admonished the Registrars, as the custodians of universities’ rules and regulations, to always be on top of their jobs while also appreciating their pivotal roles in university governance.

“Our universities produce not only products with the requisite skill sets to drive the economy but also, most importantly, to engage in research and innovation for socio-economic development.

“This will go a long way to transform the nation’s economy from resource-driven to knowledge-driven while facing the challenges of globalisation,” he said.