Varsities Need New Income Sources To Avoid Growing Funding Crisis

The Federal University of Technology Ikot Abasi (FUTIA) has warned that public universities must diversify income sources or risk worsening financial crises.

Delivering the institution’s third public lecture, titled “Financial Management in the University System: Unbundling the Theatrics, Understanding the Dynamics,” FUTIA’s Bursar, Dr Mbobo Erasmus Mbobo, urged the federal government to improve education funding while calling on universities to pursue innovative, sustainable revenue streams.

Dr Mbobo described university finance as a complex network of actors and processes, likening it to a theatrical production in which multiple institutions play critical roles.

He said the financial management cycle covers budgeting and resource allocation, fund releases, budget implementation, financial reporting, auditing and oversight.

He identified key players in the system to include the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Budget Office of the Federation, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly, university governing councils, vice-chancellors and bursars.

He noted that public universities now operate under the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), housed in the Accountant-General’s office, and stressed that financial responsibility extends beyond the bursar’s office.

Pointing to “severe financial challenges” facing public universities,

Dr. Mbobo blamed chronic underfunding and delayed release of budgeted funds for placing intense pressure on administrators striving to meet growing needs for infrastructure, research and staff development.

He added that poor financial management — weak controls, limited accountability and inadequate record-keeping — compounds the crisis.

To reduce dependence on government allocations, the bursar recommended a range of income-generation measures: consultancy services, research grants, commercialisation of research outputs, alumni contributions, endowment funds, public-private partnerships, agricultural and manufacturing ventures, facility leasing, entrepreneurship centres and international collaborations.

He argued that university education remains foundational to national development and called on administrators to embrace creative strategies to sustain their institutions amid tightening finances.