The Role of Financing Higher Education in Nigerian Universities in Achieving Sustainable Development

The current study aims to identify the role of financing higher education in Nigerian universities in the state of Kano and its impact on sustainable development. The study problem lies in the low funding of higher education in Nigerian universities, which will negatively affect the sustainability of higher education and sustainable development. The importance of the study is highlighted by highlighting the importance of financing higher education in Nigerian universities and the sources of obtaining this funding as one of the most important factors through which students can complete their studies. The study followed the qualitative approach with the aim of obtaining more accurate information about traditional higher education financing sources and its impact on the sustainability of education and achieving sustainable development. The study population reached the number of three Nigerian universities, which are a governmental, federal and private university, to learn about the impact of financing higher education in Nigerian universities on sustainable development. The sample of the study was about three out of five of those responsible for financing higher education in Nigerian universities. Also, the study followed unstructured or open interviews in order to obtain more information about financing higher education and whether or not it is suitable for the idea of a monetary endowment. The results of the study showed that the sources of financing for higher education in traditional Nigerian universities are varied, including what can be obtained through the endowment and donations fund that can be made through community initiatives, and the results of the study also indicated that the idea of a monetary endowment faces great challenges in its application, so the idea is subject to acceptance and rejection. According to the nature of the university and the nature of the subjects taught. The study recommended the necessity of expanding the study of the impact of financing higher education in Nigerian universities by expanding the scope of study to include all Nigerian states.

The Paradox of State-Funded Higher Education: Does the Winner Still Take It All?

Contrary to the overall tendency to increase student participation in the financing of higher education, Estonia abolished student tuition fees in 2013. We study the effects of this reform on the students’ access to and progress in higher education, concentrating mostly on the changes in probabilities of rural and remote students being admitted (extensive margin) and graduating within a nominal time (intensive margin). We distinguish between four different outcomes: admission in general, admission to vocational education, admission to high-rank curricula, and graduation within nominal time. We confirm the tendency that a high socioeconomic status increases the probability of being admitted to high-rank curricula and reduces the probability of choosing an applied curriculum, and the 2013 reform did not change that. While the reform weakly improved rural students’ tendency to graduate on time, it diminished the probability that they were admitted to high-rank curricula. So, paradoxically and contrary to the intention of the reform, higher state involvement in higher education financing has not improved the equity in university admission in Estonia in terms of either socioeconomic background or regional disparities. We claim that part of the explanation of that paradox lies in the conditionality of this reform and the combination of a scarce needs-based and a competitive merit-based student support system in Estonia. We see our broader contribution in emphasising the important role of support systems in the future analysis of the potential to improve students’ access.

Financing Higher Education

The rapid worldwide growth in higher education undergraduate enrollments since around 1990 has meant that governments have had to rethink provision and funding arrangements to help ensure both cost-effective and equitable outcomes. It is important to understand in detail the fundamental financial conceptual building blocks that are necessary for an efficacious and socially just higher education financing system. In response to the critical question of who should pay for higher education and student income support, the case for the sharing of the costs between students, graduates, and taxpayers is overwhelming from the perspectives of both efficiency and equity. Further, there is a consensus that governments should intervene with respect to the underwriting of student loans, but there are very important and quite different implications for borrowers with respect to loan collection arrangements. The most equitable and effective higher education financing instrument involves loans that are repaid only when and if debtors can afford to do so, known as income-contingent loans. The less desirable form of student loans, defined by time-based collection, is internationally still the most common approach, but recent advances in economic theory and econometric methodology provide both conceptual bases and exciting and innovative ways for governments to understand why traditional student loan approaches are inferior to income-contingent collection. When the effects of student loans on access and welfare become more properly understood, the case for targeted assistance for all disadvantaged prospective students for reasons of social justice remains compelling. The importance of the attainment of the right financing system was highlighted by the economic trauma associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, an ordeal that caused many universities to experience an entirely unexpected financial crisis and led millions of students to struggle with unanticipated loan repayment difficulties.

Exploring the Reliability of Research Indicators Reported by Romanian Universities in 2019

"The paper focuses on the aggregate data published by the National Council for Higher Education Financing regarding the research section of the quality indicators reported by Romanian public universities in 2019 and used for the allocation of the performance-based additional funding. The research section includes 4 indicators, which amount to 46% of the additional funding, i.e. to an average of about 10% of the total institutional funding from the public budget. The data are reported by the Romanian universities each odd year since 2015, and for the first time in 2020 national rankings for most indicators and some national averages have been made public. The data is extremely valuable for a diagnosis of the Romanian higher education system and for highlighting the performance of various universities. Therefore, the accuracy of these data is crucial. The authors of this paper acknowledge the efforts of the National Council for Higher Education Financing and of its staff provided by the Executive Unit for Financing Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation to check the data reported by the universities, but also the limits of the current verification process. The paper uses statistical methods to identify outliers and investigates the rankings for a selection of fields of science, by using three among the four research indicators. Thus, it discusses some of the more blatant reporting anomalies which contradict the pre-existing conceptions regarding the comparative performance of universities. While the statistical findings do not support the suspicions of systematic attempts of over-reporting the research outcomes at university-level, they still outline several persisting errors. These errors highlight the need to strengthen the verification process, which will require additional resources; the authors suggest that enhanced transparency and organised cross-verification among universities can significantly improve the outcome, and help providing a significant set of reliable public data on the research performance of the Romanian universities."

An Overview of the Theoretical Perspectives on Higher Education Financing (Implications for Educational Administration in Nigeria)

The paper reviewed some theories that explain higher education financing. Some aspect of these theories is compared in terms of the theoretical perspective on financing higher education. The historical viewpoint and the tenant of the theories give an insight and possible solution to higher education financing. The purpose of the paper is to illuminate an important policy issues on financing higher education the world over and to contribute to the general debate on the contribution of theories in explaining the main issue of financing higher education.

ՀՀ ԲՈՒՀԵՐԻ ԱՆՁԵՌՆՄԽԵԼԻ ՖՈՆԴԵՐԻ ԳՈՐԾԱՌՄԱՆ ԱՌԱՎԵԼՈՒԹՅՈՒՆՆԵՐԸ ԲԱՐՁՐԱԳՈՒՅՆ ԿՐԹՈՒԹՅԱՆ ՖԻՆԱՆՍԱՎՈՐՄԱՆ ՀԱՄԱՏԵՔՍՏՈՒՄ / ADVANTAGES OF FUNCTIONING THE ENDOWMENT FUNDS OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF RA HIGHER EDUCATION FINANCING

The current article discusses the advantages of endowment funds of higher education institutions in the context of financing higher education in the Republic of Armenia (RA). The endowment funds can significantly support the RA HEIs to engage new financial resources, to expand the scopes of financial autonomy and further develop cooperation with their main stakeholders.

Financing higher education in function of the Serbian economic development

A higher education system, which is adequately managed, enables the availability, advancement and adequate application of knowledge and essential overall progress of the economy and society. Such public benefits are a relevant argument for the economy and society, and especially for the state, to support higher education financially and more broadly. The aim of the research is to point out the importance and necessity of the adequate budget financing of higher education in the Republic of Serbia, without neglecting other possible sources of financing in this area, while taking into account relevant modern challenges, the most significant advantages and dangers that the model of higher education financing in the Republic of Serbia should deal with. Modern and comprehensive approach to financing higher education in the Republic of Serbia is an important factor in the development of science, national economy and society as a whole, so the issue of financing this important area should get much more attention.

The Impact of Cost Sharing on Quality of Education in Egypt's Public Universities

Egypt government undertook forward steps to reform higher education financing by introducing cost sharing policies in public universities; however, the government did not take into consideration the urgency for developing monitoring and evaluation systems to measure the effects of such policies on the quality of education. This chapter aims to measure the impact of cost sharing policy on quality of education in “FLIP”, the underlying assumption of the research is that ‘tuition fees' as a form of user charge would result in increasing education quality, which will accordingly shrink the transition period between work and school by conducting an ex-post policy evaluation design due to the absence of baseline surveys. The research study eventually comes to an end that introducing the cost sharing policy in the form of FLIP in public universities has no significant effect on quality as fitness of purpose. Finally this chapter recalls for accompanying cost sharing policies in Egypt with value creation in quality rather than only diversifying the income sources beyond the government budget.

Higher Education Financing in Lesotho: Regulation to Realize Its Sustainability and Increase Inclusiveness

Higher education plays a central role in countries’ realization of their socio-economic development and in establishing a competitive, skilled workforce globally. The need for a skilled workforce, combined with scarcity in financial resources pertaining to higher education, has resulted in governments resolving to finance higher education. This article seeks to encourage adequate regulation to realize the sustainability of higher education financing in Lesotho, to achieve greater inclusiveness in institutions of higher learning. Through the National Manpower Power Development Council Act 8 of 1978, the Lesotho government established the National Manpower Development Council, which is aimed at facilitating the granting of loan bursaries from a fund administered by the National Manpower Development Secretariat. However, these efforts have faced challenges due to the increased cost of financing higher education. Poor management of the loan recovery function, increasing default by graduates on their repayment obligations and a lack of concerted efforts between the respective government departments threaten its sustainability.