Abstract

The government finance of higher education has continued from 1948 and was at its peak during the oil boom era of 1970s when the university secured funds largely from government grants to finance university education in Nigeria. For example, by 1973 tuition fees were made free and hostel accommodation was set at N90:00. This method of financing took a new turn in the early 1980s when the oil boom era was over. The government subvention to the universities was drastically cut and the upward adjustment of user fees and introduction of tuition fee to supplement the cut in subvention could not be achieved because of the student union government opposition. Therefore, the revenue going to the universities began to fall gradually. It is now incumbent on the universities to look for means of financing its different programmes and maintain the infrastructural facilities and staff salaries. Based on the above therefore, the study sought to examine various means by which the universities are being funded. Apart, the study shall investigate the effect of these different methods on the performance of undergraduate students at the University of Ibadan. The study intends to make use of descriptive qualitative research in analysing the data obtained from the respondents. The results will be of immense importance to the university administrator and educational managers and administrators.