Federal government funding of research in universities in Nigeria, the university of benin as a case study

Abstract

It is increasingly evident that research is extremely critical and important if universities are to serve as engines of development in their areas of locations. For a knowledge-driven world, investment in research and development (R&D) is a sine qua non for a nation. Few studies have examined the federal government's investment in research in her universities. Furthermore, there is no available evidence of studies on the federal government funding of teaching and research equipment in universities in Nigeria. This study, therefore, investigated the federal government funding of research, teaching and research equipment at the University of Benin. Four research questions were posed to guide the study. The findings showed that less than 5% of the total recurrent revenue was allocated for research at the University of Benin during the 1992/93 to 1996/97 academic sessions. The findings indicated that the federal government is not making a robust investment in research and therefore Nigeria is not developing. Hence its economic quagmire. This paper, therefore, canvassed for the revitalization of research in universities in Nigeria as a means of fast-tracking its economic development.