Why public universities might start charging N1m tuition fee – LASU ex-VC

Former Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University, Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, has said public universities in Nigeria may need to charge at least N1 million per student annually to achieve financial sustainability.

Olatunji-Bello, whose five-year tenure ended on Saturday, made the comment in an exclusive interview with Punch.

She identified inadequate funding as one of the major challenges facing public universities, noting that LASU’s internally generated revenue had grown significantly but remained insufficient to meet its financial obligations.

According to the former vice chancellor, LASU currently spends more than N1 billion monthly on salaries, while its annual internally generated revenue stands at about N13 billion.

“Universities can achieve financial self-sustainability. If they can innovate and ensure improvements in the institution, money will come in,” she said.

“But then, if the money comes in, how do you spend it? Right now, LASU does not have financial self-sustainability.

“Our payroll right now is over N1 billion per month. All the N13 billion IGR does not cover our salaries.”

Olatunji-Bello said universities seeking financial independence would therefore have to significantly increase their tuition fees.

“So, universities that want to attain self-sustainability will have to increase school fees into millions,” she said.

She added that some secondary schools already charge more than N1 million per term, while some public universities still collect around N100,000 annually.

“So, any public university that wants to sustain financial independence will have to charge school fees of not less than N1 million per student,” the former vice chancellor said.

Olatunji-Bello also stressed that maintaining quality education requires substantial funding, urging parents to prioritise the education of their children.

“Good quality education needs money,” she said.

During her five-year tenure, Olatunji-Bello said LASU increased its internally generated revenue from about N3 billion to N13 billion through new programmes, digital initiatives and other revenue-generating efforts.

She identified a 2024 Students’ Union protest over a N10,000 payment for computer-based testing as the lowest point of her administration.

However, she described LASU’s emergence as the most subscribed university among UTME candidates in 2025 as one of the major highlights of her tenure.

“When JAMB declared that we were the most subscribed university by UTME candidates in Nigeria; that was great for me,” she said.

“And this year, 2026, we maintained that number one position. And not only did we maintain it, but we were even awarded N25 million for maintaining compliance with JAMB regulations.”