An Appraisal of Funding of Legal Education in Nigeria

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ABSTRACT

An Appraisal of Funding of Legal Education in Nigeria

Dr. Godwin Umoru*

This paper examines funding of legal education in Nigeria without losing sight of how the general funding of tertiary education impacts on it. The examination takes into account the evolution of legal education in Nigeria and the traditional sources of funding available to the institutions and students – government subvention, fees, scholarships, endowment, bursaries, loans, donations, grants, gifts and contributions from intervention agencies like the Tertiary Education Trust Fund. In spite of all these sources, adequate funding of tertiary institutions remains a mirage and even more pronounced in the area of legal education where quality appears to have been compromised. Endowment which is the most important source of funding of tertiary institutions in advanced nations as empirically revealed in the paper is found to be relegated to the background in Nigeria. One of the consequences of inadequate funding is that, in the Times Higher Education Ranking of Universities world-wide, 2016-2017, no Nigeria University is in the top 500. Secondly, some programmes in the Universities are denied accreditation by both the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Council of Legal Education. It is therefore the recommendation of the paper that the enthronement of endowment by non-governmental organisations, professional societies, philanthropists together with all three tiers of government should be encouraged to take their rightful place in the funding of legal education in Nigeria so as to advance democracy and economic development.

INTRODUCTION
Education is the bedrock for any meaningful development, as it broadens the mind, exposes knowledge, touches every aspect of human endeavour just as it acts as a catalyst for national development. For Femade et al, education defines the quality of life, it is the foundation on which the society is built. Higher learning takes the intellect to the next level of success and provides a deeper understanding of relevant subjects and provides the necessary foundation for economic growth. The success of any educational system therefore hinges on proper planning, effective administration and adequate funding. Funding is essential for the survival of any institution₁ and funding of legal education is essential for the survival of not only the legal profession but for the sustenance of the rule of law upon which the socio-economic development of any nation revolves. Similarly, a lawyer can only be as good as the system of legal education that produced him. The challenges confronting tertiary institutions in Nigeria currently are numerous but the challenge dealing the worst deathblow is that of underfunding of tertiary institutions₂ and by extension, the legal education in Nigeria.

Drawing from the views of Adesulu₃ the vision and power of education that the Nigerian foremost nationalists had which brought them to the limelight, no doubt influenced the early government of the 60s to invest in qualitative education. At that time, primary education to the university level were well funded by the government.

* Ph.D., BL. Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Benin, Benin City

1. Femade, O.A. et al, ‘Towards Improved Funding of Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria’ (2015) 3(1) Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences
2. Ahmed M., ‘Universities Infrastructure and Services: Concession Options and Methodologies’ accessed 30 August, 2016
3. Adesulu, D., ‘Nigeria at 56: What Education was like before Independence’  accessed 29 September, 2016

THE GRAVITAS REVIEW OF BUSINESS & PROPERTY LAW VOL.8 NO.1