At least 239 first-class graduates employed as lecturers at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) have left the institution over the past seven years, citing poor remuneration and challenging working conditions. The revelation was made by the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, during a lecture at The Forum themed “Innovative Funding of Functional Education in the Digital Age,” held along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Ogundipe provided a detailed breakdown of the attrition, noting that UNILAG employed 256 first-class graduates between 2015 and 2022, yet only 17 remained as of October 2023. He attributed the mass departure to low motivation, inadequate salaries, and unconducive work environments.

“At UNILAG, we prioritized employing first-class graduates, yet today fewer than 10 percent remain. During my tenure, 88 were recruited, but most have since left,” Ogundipe said. He warned that if current conditions persist, universities may see a disproportionate female presence, while less-qualified candidates gain access to postgraduate programs.

He also highlighted chronic underfunding of Nigeria’s education sector, with federal and state allocations consistently below 10 percent of the budget, well under UNESCO’s recommended 15–26 percent. This fiscal constraint has left infrastructure, technology, research, and digital facilities overstretched or absent, he said.

To address the challenges, Ogundipe urged legislators to mandate annual allocations of at least N1 billion for first-generation universities and advocated for innovative financing solutions, including public-private partnerships, alumni endowments, philanthropy, education bonds, and leveraging technology and the Nigerian diaspora.

He called on the private sector to invest in education as both social responsibility and national interest, while urging alumni, civil society, faith-based organizations, and donor agencies to support institutions through mentorship, funding, and advocacy. “Education is a sacred trust. Our fingerprints and contributions should be evident in the libraries, digital labs, scholarships, and lives transformed,” he added.

The forum was attended by top management staff and senior editors from media organizations, emphasizing the collaborative effort needed to drive reforms in education funding and sustainability.