Educational Financing Reforms in Nigeria: A Survey-Based Cost Implications Analysis for University Education
Akinyemi Samuel, OFEM Igot Bassey, ADEBISI Olorunfemi

Abstract
In recent times, the pressure on household finances with respect to the tuition fees/ school charges paid particularly for university education has been attributed to the cost-sharing financing reforms of the Nigerian higher education amongst others. The distributive effects and unintended consequences of such reforms on students’ enrolment have not received sufficient attention. The purpose of this study therefore was to examine the effect of tuition fees /school charges on the household income, students’ enrolment, gender disparity and to estimate the cost elasticity of the private demand for university education with a view to determining the percentage enrolment with respect to percentage increase in the private cost. This study puts in clearer perspectives the cost implications of the cost- sharing reforms on the cost of university education and guides the overall investment decisions of stake holders. Adopting the descriptive survey design and secondary data on students enrolment and household income from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and National Universities Commission (NUC) of various years.The analysis revealed that tuition fees were higher in private universities than state universities due to private universities’ profit-oriented nature, the price of university was higher than the average household income, there was still increase in students’ enrolment despite the increase in tuition fees in the state universities; and that household demand for university education was inelastic. Sequel to these findings, this paper inferred that the regressive impact of users fees be mitigated by offering targeted scholarships with emphasis on the low and middle income households; National budget reform be put in place with the education sector given priority to allocation of more funds.

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