Date: 2017-06-13

The Kwara State government wishes to clarify that subvention to the Kwara State University (KWASU) and other tertiary institutions in the State was stopped based on estimates prepared by the institutions as a prelude to the State's 2017 budget proposal. The government also wishes to correct the impression that the state university is a debtor institution.

In 2016, the State government and managements of tertiary institutions in the State reviewed the schools' expected revenue inflows and financial commitments. That review concluded that some institutions no longer required subventions from the Government.

The government however made a commitment to continue to provide funding for accreditation exercises.

It is instructive to note that the government reviewed the subventions accruing to the state-owned institutions after deploying mechanisms to block loopholes and wastage in the system, as part of efforts to cut costs.

It was after the review that the government discovered that the internal revenues generated by institutions such as KWASU and Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin were enough to meet their financial obligations.

This discovery necessitated the State government's decision to discontinue the monthly subventions to the institutions. With regards to KWASU, and as stated earlier, the university's budget for this year was prepared based on expected students enrolment and payment of fees as well as recurrent expenditure.

However, KWASU could not meet the set target due to a two-week delay in the enrolment of new students, which led to a revenue shortfall. The financial status of the University will, however, be normalized as soon as students resume in July for a new academic session.

Therefore, any bridge financial intervention initiated by the university is temporary and does not amount to distress. The state government maintains that its decision to stop subventions accruing to some of the state-owned tertiary institutions was based on the finances of the institutions and its determination to make them self-sustaining.