Cost Management in a Nigerian First-generation University

Abstract

This study evaluates past trends in cost management in university education as a way of finding solutions to the continued financial constraints facing Nigerian universities. Taking the University of Benin as a case study, this article shows that between the 1988‐1989 and the 1992‐1993 academic years, this university was grossly underfunded, despite increasing recurrent expenditure, consistent rapid growth in student enrollments, and inadequate academic staff. As of the 1992‐1993 academic year, the federal government was providing 94.5 percent of the total financial revenue of the university. The balance of 5.5 percent was raised from internal sources by the university. Since one fundamental problem of educational cost management in this university appears to be the inadequacy of funding, the study advocates the adoption of cost-recovery policies by introducing user fees and student loan schemes to soften the impact of these fees.