Kaduna Govt Urged To Invest More In Tertiary Institutions

A non-governmental organisation, Civic Impact for Sustainable Development Foundation, has called on the Kaduna State government to prioritise funding of tertiary institutions in the state.

The foundation said that despite allocating over 25 percent of its total original budget to education in 2023, 2024 and 2025, the state’s three tertiary institutions – Kaduna State University, Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic and Kaduna State College of Education – were still struggling with inadequate funding and delayed cash releases.

A statement on Friday jointly signed by head of Policy, Research and Data, Gabriel Adinga and Waniya Ilu, the head of Participatory Governance, Civic Impact for Sustainable Development Foundation, disclosed that the education sector allocation increased by 110 percent between 2023 and 2025, but the tertiary institutions received less than 25 percent of the total education sector budget.

“Despite the improved revenue performance, none of the institutions generated sufficient revenue to cover personnel costs or capital expenditures. The capital expenditure for the three tertiary institutions under-performed, with less than 15 percent and less than 1 percent performance in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The top five highest-valued projects had 0 percent performance as of September 2024.”

According to them, lack of funding has led to a decline in the quality of education, with the full-year budget performance for tertiary institutions falling below 70 percent in 2023 and 2024.

They however, urged the state government to take immediate action to address the challenges.

They recommended that Kaduna State government should review and adjust the budget to ensure tertiary institutions receive adequate funding to achieve their mandates.

“The State government should consider providing additional funding or support to tertiary institutions to address funding gaps and ensure sustainability.”