ADAPTING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA VOUCHER SYSTEM OF FUNDING EDUCATION AS A MODEL FOR FUNDING TERTIARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Prompted by the poor/inadequate financing of tertiary education in Nigeria and the increasingly declining capacity of the government to adequately fund tertiary education delivery, this paper explored the adoption or adaptation of the United States Voucher System of Education Funding as a possible model for effective remedy. The paper, employing the expository cum applied research methodology, considered that the United Voucher System of Funding Education which cedes the funding of education through the learners/students and not through the institution as a potentially effective and efficient way of addressing the funding challenge of the Nigeria Education system. The paper, in so doing, argued that the voucher system possesses the prospect of offering a win-win solution for the government and the tertiary educational institutions. That is, on the one hand, through it the government would only have to be charged with funding the education of only her citizens who are willing to embrace and pursue the tertiary level of education and so reduce waste and on the other, tertiary institutions would not only have to retain and protect their autonomy but also would have to strive for excellence as their patronage by prospective students would significantly be dependent on their marketability and competiveness in relation to their level of excellence.