Akungba-Akoko: Professor of Educational Management at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akinrotimi Oyetakin, has called on the government to consider increasing educational budgetary allocation to 20 per cent. Oyetakin made the call while delivering the institution’s 42nd inaugural lecture titled ‘Cost Explosion and Expenditure Implosion of Tertiary Education: Equilibrium Heresies in Motion’. The education management expert emphasized the urgent need for legislative action to address the underfunding of Nigeria’s educational sector.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Oyetakin advocated for the creation of a dedicated emergency relief agency for the educational sector. He urged the Federal Ministry of Education to lead a coalition with other stakeholders to address the sector’s challenges. Oyetakin stressed the importance of sponsoring a legislative bill at both federal and state levels to increase annual budgetary allocations to education.
He highlighted the necessity of removing detrimental elements affecting the educational sector and called for the establishment of the Education Emergency Relief Agency of Nigeria (EERAN). The proposed agency would manage emergencies faced by educational institutions in Nigeria, which are currently dealing with terrorism and natural disasters. Oyetakin noted that while the budget allocated to education appears to be increasing, it is insufficient to meet the financial demands of higher education.
He argued that increasing the budget allocation to over 20 per cent annually could alleviate the current challenges. Oyetakin emphasized that government spending is inadequate to support the financial needs of higher education. He expressed confidence that implementing his recommendations would address the issues plaguing the system and improve the delivery of tertiary education in Nigeria.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of the Institution, Prof. Olugbenga Ige, commended Oyetakin for his scholarly contributions. Ige highlighted the importance of the inaugural lecture in reinforcing the university’s commitment to academic research and noted Oyetakin’s role in supervising postgraduate students, including Ph.D. candidates.