Abstract
This paper investigated the existence, effectiveness, managerial
problems and strategies for effective management of alternative sources of
funding tertiary education. Education which was acclaimed as having the
potential for national transformation would not be offered without adequate
funding as efforts so far made in the area of funding were adjudged inadequate.
The population of the study consisted of 50 respondents all of which were used
for the study as no sample was drawn. The instrument was a questionnaire titled
“Effective Management of Alternative Sources of Funding Questionnaire
(EMASFQ).The questionnaire was validated by experts and tested for reliability
using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The four sections of
the instrument yielded 0.84, 0.82, 0.79 and 0.73 values respectively. Data
collected were analyzed using mean ratings. Conclusion was drawn that though
alternative sources of funding were in existence for alleviating funding
problems in colleges of education, ineffective management could not allow this
lofty objective to be achieved. The paper recommended among others that only
those with entrepreneurial knowledge should be allowed to manage revenue
yielding out fits in the colleges.
Introduction
There cannot be any realistic national
transformation in the absence of relevant educational practices. This is
because education has remained a veritable instrument for promotion and
sustenance of national transformation. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004)
stated that education will continue to be highly rated in the national
development plans because education is the most important instrument of change,
as any fundamental change in the intellectual and social outlook of any society
has to be preceded by an educational revolution.
Education is
widely acclaimed as having the potential for transmission of desirable values
such as work ethics, patriotism, honesty and fairness all of which are
attributes of national transformation. Scholars such as Oyekan (2000) and
Okecha (2002) are in consensus that education is one of the main instruments
for developing the capabilities of nations and for harnessing their vast
resources for functional self-reliance and survival of humanity. Education is
therefore a vital tool for growth, transformation and survival.
However, funding
has remained a critical factor in the provision of functional education that
can lead to national transformation. Ayeni and Babalola (2009) argued that
funding was central and germane to the success of all levels of education.
Nigeria is aware of the importance of funding education hence some efforts
already made in the allocation of fund to tertiary level of education such as
Colleges of Education. For instance, in 2007 Government allocated the sum of N 25.9 million naira to each of the 174
Colleges of Education in the country and N321
million naira each in 2012 which is 72.11 percent increase compared to the
previous. Similarly, in 2012, N1billion
naira was allocated to one college of Education in each of the nation’s six
geo-political zones as special intervention fund (Abubakar, 2012).
In spite of these
efforts, there has been wide outcry against poor funding of education in the
country especially the tertiary level. Onuka in Ayeni, et al (2009) expressed
the notion that higher education sub-sector had suffered continuously from
inadequate and poor funding. Ezekwesiri (2006) added that the underfunding of
education especially at the tertiary level has become recurring phenomenon in the
polity, because almost everyone seemed to agree that funds allocation to the
education sector could not meet its needs taking into consideration the
monumental decadence in the education sector. Similarly, National Commission
for Colleges of Education (2006) lamented inadequate funding of colleges of
education arising from low government subventions and poor revenue generation
base.
Several research
findings (Enyi, 2001, Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1991 and Okoli, 2006)
indicated a consensus that the main cause of apparent collapse of tertiary
education in Nigeria had been inadequate funding. Reports of a number of
groups, committees and commissions such Fafunwa study Group on Funding of
Education of 1984, World Bank report of 1987 and Longe Commission of 1990 on
review of higher education in Nigeria virtually arrived at the same verdict
about the main cause of apparent decay in the nations tertiary education
sub-sector as poor funding. As a result of this, all recommendations suggested
diversification of sources of funding tertiary education. This accounts for why
colleges of education became involved in several income generating activities
such as extra- mural programmes, health services, shopping centres and
consultancy services.
Despite these
income generating activities, the overall economic picture of many colleges of
education is still deplorable. According to Nwabueze (1995), 95 percent of
funds expended in the colleges are still received from the government. The
trend persisted and aggravated the poor condition of the colleges as captured
in the following statements:
Colleges
of education in Nigeria presently and in all ramifications appear to have been
bedeviled with physical- facility related problems. The prevailing circumstance
in virtually all the colleges is over-crowded hostels, unconducive and
insufficient classroom facilities. Some college buildings are usually seen in
bad condition with either blown off roofs, broken walls, leaking roofs or both
suggesting over usage and lack of maintenance. …. Facilities are either lacking
or deteriorating and these have led to poor job satisfaction among workers and
consequently decline in academic achievement (Ezeuwa, 2009:231).
Alternative
sources of funding if effectively managed can serve as a veritable compliment
of the funds provided for the colleges by the government. Given adequate
management, alternative sources of funding could provide a viable supplementary
source of government efforts in funding higher education (Enyi, 2001).With
effective management of alternative sources of funding, it is believed that the
colleges will not only soar high in their academic programmes but, also align
themselves on the path of self-sustaining development for national
transformation.
It is against
this backdrop therefore that, this paper is set to ascertain the existence,
investigate effectiveness, managerial problems and strategies for effective
management of alternative sources of funding public colleges of education, with
the aim of making them a dependable and viable source for complimenting
government efforts in funding tertiary education.
Research Questions
The study was guided by the following research questions:
1.
What
are alternative sources of funding currently existing in colleges of education?
2.
What
is the effectiveness of the identified sources in alleviating funding challenges
in colleges of education?
3.
What
problems militate against effective management of alternative funding sources?
4.
What
strategies could be adopted to enhance effective management of the sources?
Methodology
The
descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of
the study consisted of 5 bursars, 5 registrars and 40 finance officers from 5
colleges of education namely; Ebonyi State College 0f Education, Ikwo, Federal
College of Education, Obudu, College of Education, Ankpa, Federal College of
Education, Akoka and college of Education, Azare. All the registrars, bursars
and finance officers were used for the study as no sample was drawn. On the
whole, 50 key respondents were involved in the study.
Study instrument
was a researcher designed questionnaire titled “Effective Management of
Alternative Sources of Funding Questionnaire (EMASFQ)”. It is a 50 item
statement questionnaire consisting of four (4) sections designed to seek
information on alternative sources of funding existing in the colleges,
effectiveness of these sources in alleviating funding problems in the colleges,
problems militating against effective management of these sources and strategies
for enhancing effective management of the sources. .
Two experts, one
in finance and the other in the area of measurement and evaluation validated
the instrument. Their comments and suggestions led to the reduction of the
items from original 60 t0 50. Reliability of the instrument was established
using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. Reliability coefficient
values of 0.84, 0.82, 0.79 and 0.73 respectively were obtained from each of the
four sections, A-D. Fifty (50) copies of the questionnaire administered through
four (4) research assistants one from each of the colleges were returned and used
for analysis.
Research
questions were answered using mean ratings. Item with mean score of 2.5 and
above were regarded as having positive/agree response while scores less than
2.5 were regarded as having negative/disagree response.
Result
Table 1: Existence of
Alternative Sources of Funding in the Sampled Colleges of Education
|
S/NO
|
Alternative Sources
|
X
|
Decision
|
|
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
|
Extra-mural studies
Nursery/primary school
Bookshop
Renting of college facilities
Guest house/catering services
Conference/seminar activities
Consultancy services
Printing and publishing business
Banking services
Agricultural business (poultry, pigry, etc.)
Shopping/super market
Laboratory services
Hire of sporting facilities
Health services
Library services (Books lending, etc)
|
2.9
2.58
3.04
2.76
2.62
3.22
2.62
1.7
1.82
3.3
3.1
2.52
2.56
3.28
2.64
|
positive
positive
positive
positive
positive
positive
positive
negative
negative
positive
positive
positive
positive
positive
positive
|
|
|
Grand total
Grand mean
|
40.66
2.71
|
|
Table 1 summaries level of existence of
alternative sources of funding education. That out of 15 alternative sources,
13 met 2.5 and above decision score is indicative of not only their existence
but popularity in the surveyed colleges of education. In deed, only 2 sources
(publishing and printing business and banking services) appeared unpopular
having recorded 1.72 and 1.82 respectively. Alternative sources of funding
education are therefore in existence in colleges of education.
Table 2: Effectiveness of
alternative sources of funding in alleviating
economic problems in Sampled Colleges of Education.
|
S/No
|
Alternative Sources
|
X
|
SD
|
|
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
|
Extra-mural studies
Nursery/primary school fees/levies
Bookshop
Renting of college facilities
Guest house/catering services
Conference/seminar activities
Consultancy services
Printing and publishing business
Banking services
Agricultural business (poultry, pigry, etc.)
Shopping/super market
Laboratory services
Hire of sporting facilities
Health services
Library services (Books lending, etc)
|
3.0
2.66
3.06
2.72
2.68
3.16
2.86
2.88
2.52
3.12
3.0
2.54
2.64
3.16
2.68
|
0.97
1.00
1.03
0.96
1.03
0.93
1.04
0.91
1.07
0.93
1.03
1.09
1.12
1.01
1.15
|
Results in table
2 indicate extent of effectiveness of alternative sources. Given the decision
score of 2.5 and above all the 15 items listed were effective in alleviating
funding problems in the college of education. It is therefore believed that
alternative sources of funding education are effective in alleviating funding
problems faced by the institutions.
Table 3: Problems militating
against Effective management of
alternative sources
|
S/NO
|
Problem
|
X
|
SD
|
|
1.
|
Inadequate entrepreneurial knowledge by staff involved
|
2.76
|
0.98
|
|
2.
|
Poor performance on job
|
2.7
|
1.12
|
|
3.
|
Corruption in public service
|
2.98
|
1.03
|
|
4.
|
Poor remuneration of staff
|
2.54
|
1.09
|
|
5.
|
Inability of management to initiate effective managerial
strategies
|
2.58
|
1.16
|
|
6.
|
Poor attitude towards
public enterprise
|
2.62
|
1.02
|
|
7.
|
Unreliable public utilities (electricity, water supply, etc.)
|
2.78
|
1.01
|
|
8.
|
Stringent college financial policies
|
2.64
|
1.10
|
|
9.
|
Low public patronage
|
2.44
|
1.07
|
|
10
|
Power tussle among management members
|
2.38
|
1.02
|
Going by a 2.5
mid-point in the 4-point rating scale, results in table 3 above show that all
the items except 9 and 10 had mean ratings above the mid-point indicating that
effective management of existing alternative sources of funding is frustrated
by 8 identified problems with item 3 “corruption in public service” recording
the highest of 2.98.
Table 4: strategies for
enhancing effective management of alternative
sources
|
S/No
|
Problem
|
X
|
SD
|
|
1.
|
Using only knowledgeable entrepreneurial personnel to manage
revenue yielding ventures
|
2.6
|
1.03
|
|
2.
|
Encouraging hard work and dedication to duty
|
3.0
|
1.01
|
|
3.
|
Introducing stringent disciplinary measures against corrupt
officials
|
2.5
|
1.03
|
|
4.
|
Sufficient remuneration of revenue officers
|
2.86
|
0.96
|
|
5.
|
Initiating reliable financial management policies
|
2.88
|
1.00
|
|
6.
|
Carrying out orientation against negative attitude towards
public enterprise
|
2.62
|
1.00
|
|
7.
|
Improving on infrastructural facilities and public utilities
|
2.62
|
0.96
|
|
8.
|
Encouraging members of the public to patronize college business
outfits
|
2.72
|
1.06
|
|
9.
|
Using appropriate machinery to ensure accountability
|
2.86
|
1.03
|
|
10.
|
Evolving clear-cut job description amongst members of college
management
|
2.52
|
0.99
|
Results in table
4 above indicate that all the strategies listed were appropriate for enhancing
effective management of alternative sources of funding in colleges of
education. All the identified strategies recorded mean ratings of 2.5 and
above. The highest mean rating was recorded in the case of “encouraging hard
work and dedication to duty” followed by “initiating reliable financial
policies”. Both recorded 3.0 and 2.88 respectively.
Summary of Major Findings
The following major findings were made by the study.
1.
Alternative
sources of funding education are already available in colleges of education
2.
Available
sources can effectively alleviate the funding problems of the colleges
3.
Utilization
of the sources is negatively being affected by ineffective management.
4.
Proper
utilization of the sources in funding college programmes can be enhanced by
effective management
Discussion
The first finding
of the study reveals that alternative sources of funding tertiary education are
available in colleges of education in Nigeria. This is because out of 15 item
sources listed, respondents identified 13 of them as popular in the colleges.
Extramural studies, nursery/primary school levies/fees, proceeds from bookshop,
renting of college facilities, conference/seminar activities among others were all
in existence. Two sources namely; printing and publishing enterprise and
banking services were identified to also be in existence but presently not
popular sources of alternative funding. The finding agrees with Ogbonna (2000),
Maduewesi (2001) and Enyi (2001) which stated that management of tertiary
educational institutions could source out alternative means of funding their
progremmes rather than depend completely on government.
The second
finding reveals that these alternative sources can effectively alleviate
economic crisis bedeviling public colleges of education in Nigeria. All the 15
sources listed were approved as having the capacity of alleviating funding
problems in the colleges of education. This view corroborates with Enyi (2001)
that viewed alternative sources of funding education as dependable in
alleviating economic crisis in Nigeria higher education.
However study
findings such as Nwaka (1998), Enyi (1999) and Ezeuwa (2009) have shown that
mere existence of these income-generating activities does not necessarily
guarantee their effective use in alleviating financial problems confronting our
tertiary education. The third finding of this study reveals that proper
utilization of these alternative sources is negatively being affected by poor management.
Corruption which is prevalent in public service enjoys popularity as a major
cause of ineffective management of existing alternative sources of funding.
This situation accounts for why Okeke (2009) warned that public schools should
carefully husband their sources of fund and eschew all forms of corruption.
On the strategy
for coping with the problems of ineffective management of alternative sources
of funding, the issue of encouraging hard work and dedication to duty emerged
as the dominant choice. This is not surprising as records (Enyi, 2001a; Enyi,
2001b identified the need for using dedicated and talented finance workers in
managing business outfits of public schools. Encouraging hard work and
dedication to duty is necessary as motivation has been noted to be a good
administrative measure for achieving high productivity among workers within an
organization.
Implications of the Study
It
is certain that there cannot be effective transformation of Nigeria without
proper education. The citizens must be given the opportunity to acquire the
right type of education which can only be made possible by adequate funding.
Colleges of education are positioned to train teachers who would train the rest
of the people to acquire knowledge, skills and attitude that will enhance
national transformation. Since the efforts of the government so far in funding
the colleges are adjudged inadequate, evolving alternative sources of funding
becomes necessary. These alternative sources would not just exist but effectively
managed to alleviate the financial crisis in the institutions.
Conclusion
Mere existence of
alternative sources of funding cannot guarantee their effectiveness in
alleviating financial crisis in colleges of education. They must be effectively
managed for them to yield financial resources that will be used for college
programmes. Certain problems such as corruption and lack of dedication to duty
have been identified to hamper effective management of the alternative sources.
To cope with the problems, strategies were identified to include using
appropriate machinery to ensure accountability among others.
Recommendations
Based
on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made:
·
Though
alternative sources of funding exist in colleges of education, college
administrators should further explore more sources for inclusion in the
existing ones to make them more varied.
·
College
management should conscientiously make existing alternative sources of funding
reliable means of funding education programmes.
·
College
management should carry out well planned orientation of finance officers and
all the workers of the college on the need for effective management of
alternative sources of funding.
·
Concerned staff of the colleges should be
exposed to modern business management strategies through regular workshops,
seminars and conferences.
·
College
administrators should insist on proper and effective management of alternative
sources of funding by formulating and ensuring implementation of relevant
policies.
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