Former Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University, Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, has said public universities in Nigeria may need to charge at least N1 million per student annually to become financially self-sustaining.
Olatunji-Bello, whose five-year tenure ended on Saturday, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with Punch.
She identified inadequate funding as one of the biggest challenges facing public universities, noting that although LASU’s internally generated revenue (IGR) had grown significantly during her tenure, it still fell short of covering the institution’s financial obligations.
According to her, LASU currently spends over N1 billion monthly on salaries, while its annual IGR stands at about N13 billion — an amount that does not fully cover the wage bill.
“Universities can achieve financial self-sustainability. If they can innovate and ensure improvements in the institution, money will come in,” she said. “But then, if the money comes in, how do you spend it? Right now, LASU does not have financial self-sustainability. Our payroll right now is over N1 billion per month. All the N13 billion IGR does not cover our salaries.”
She said any public university seeking genuine financial independence would have to raise tuition significantly, pointing out that some private secondary schools already charge over N1 million per term, while several public universities still collect as little as N100,000 annually.
“So, any public university that wants to sustain financial independence will have to charge school fees of not less than N1 million per student,” she said.
Olatunji-Bello also stressed that quality education comes at a cost, urging parents to prioritise their children’s education despite the financial demands.
During her tenure, LASU’s IGR rose from about N3 billion to N13 billion, driven by new academic programmes, digital initiatives and other revenue-generating measures.
She named the 2024 Students’ Union protest over a N10,000 computer-based testing fee as the lowest point of her administration, but pointed to LASU’s emergence as Nigeria’s most subscribed university among UTME candidates in 2025 — a position it retained in 2026 — as one of her tenure’s major highlights.
“When JAMB declared that we were the most subscribed university by UTME candidates in Nigeria, that was great for me,” she said. “And this year, 2026, we maintained that number one position. And not only did we maintain it, but we were even awarded N25 million for maintaining compliance with JAMB regulations.”
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