The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has lost no fewer than 239 first-class graduates employed as lecturers within seven years, largely due to poor remuneration and harsh working conditions.
Former Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, revealed this while delivering a lecture at The PUNCH Forum themed “Innovative Funding of Functional Education in the Digital Age” in Lagos.
According to him, UNILAG recruited 256 first-class graduates as lecturers between 2015 and 2022, but by October 2023, only 17 remained. “What is left is not up to 10 per cent. They have all left. If this trend continues, in the next 10 years, universities will be dominated by women, while less-prepared candidates flood postgraduate studies,” Ogundipe cautioned.
He attributed the mass exit to poor salaries, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of motivation, lamenting that the federal allocation to education has consistently remained below 10 per cent — far short of UNESCO’s 15–26 per cent benchmark.
Ogundipe called for legislation mandating at least ₦1 billion yearly allocation to each first-generation university, warning that reliance on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is crippling research and innovation.
He urged government, private sector, alumni, and donor agencies to explore innovative financing such as education bonds, diaspora investments, public-private partnerships, and endowments. “The private sector must see education support not just as corporate social responsibility but as an investment in tomorrow’s workforce,” he said.
The former VC also stressed that alumni and civil society have a duty to give back, mentor, and advocate for stronger institutions. “Above all, every Nigerian must see education as the most sacred trust we pass to our children,” he added.
