Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, who recently completed her five-year term as Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University, has argued that public universities in Nigeria will need to charge at least ₦1 million in tuition per student if they hope to become financially self-sustaining.
Speaking in a recent interview reflecting on her tenure, which ended on Saturday, Olatunji-Bello revealed that LASU’s monthly payroll exceeds ₦1 billion, while the university’s internally generated revenue of ₦13 billion isn’t enough to cover staff salaries. She said that while institutions can achieve financial independence through innovation and improvement, LASU currently isn’t there — even with increased dedicated revenue, the numbers simply don’t add up.
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She pointed out the disparity between costs elsewhere and current university fees, noting that some secondary schools already charge over ₦1 million per term while certain public universities still charge only around ₦100,000 a year, a gap she described as unsustainable. In her view, any public university serious about achieving financial independence will need to raise its fees to at least ₦1 million per student.
Olatunji-Bello also stressed that quality education comes at a cost and urged parents to treat their children’s education as a financial priority.
Her comments follow similar remarks from Education Minister Tunji Alausa, who recently called on public universities to diversify their funding sources, arguing that government funding alone cannot sustain Nigeria’s tertiary institutions long-term.
