FG reveals New Programme to enhance University Funding and Global Competitiveness.
The Federal Government has initiated the National University Advancement Programme, a new programme with the purpose of helping Nigerian universities become more financially stable and globally competitive by reinforcing alumni engagement, institutional partnerships and fundraising capacity.
In a keynote address at the training session's closing ceremony for university officials, Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, revealed the initiative's goals. The address was detailed in a statement issued Friday by the minister's Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah.
He described the initiative as a means of complementing, rather than replacing, existing government funding, intended to open up additional channels of support through alumni networks, donor partnerships and contributions. He said that "The National University Advancement Programme is not to replace government support for higher education. Rather, it is to complement existing investments by creating additional pathways for sustainability, innovation, research support, scholarships and long-term institutional growth".
Alausa clarified that the initiative was established through a partnership between the Federal Ministry of Education, the Nigeria Higher Education Foundation, and the Africa Finance Corporation, with a primary purpose of setting up professionally established Advancement Offices across federal universities and inter-university centres. He said that these offices will be saddled with the responsibility of handling alumni engagement, donor relations, endowment management, and institutional partnerships, which will help universities become more financially resilient.
He pointed to alumni as an underutilized resource for Nigerian universities, noting that many graduates have gone on to excel in business, science, medicine, technology, and public service both at home and abroad. He expressed a concern that stronger alumni ties translate into more research support, increased scholarships and access to mentorship for students, improved infrastructure, and better innovation. Officials trained under the programme were provided with practical skills in alumni engagement, fundraising and donor stewardship, and were admonished to return to their institutions to implement reforms with regard to accountability, governance and the overall student experience. Alausa matched the initiative to the broader education reform plan of the Tinubu administration, which he said continues to focus on empowering institutions and expanding access to quality education. Claire Jemide, Chairman of the Technical Working Committee of the Nigeria Higher Education Foundation, who also spoke at the event, described the foundation as a tactical partner invested in Nigeria's higher education ecosystem. She said the advancement programme, which followed a Memorandum of Agreement signed with the Ministry of Education in January 2026, would equip universities with the tools and strategies required for stronger alumni engagement, fundraising and long-term institutional growth. The training attracted vice-chancellors, university administrators and advancement officers from federal universities and inter-university centres nationwide, concentrating on global best practices in institutional advancement and donor relations. The programme forms part of the Federal Ministry of Education's broader reform push under the Renewed Hope Agenda, with the goal of reducing universities'
dependence on government allocations by building institutional capacity to attract donations, secure research funding and forge strategic partnerships in accordance with practices used by leading universities worldwide. Source: Federal Ministry of Education statement via Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah (summarized and rewritten).