The inability of Nigerian universities to absorb the high number of secondary school graduates due to its insufficient spaces has been identified as one of the major reasons Nigerians go to study abroad. British Council, Nigeria, at a press conference in Lagos yesterday, announced the eight edition of its annual education fair, an event which has ensured that an increasing number of Nigerians gain admission to study in British higher institutions yearly. “Nigeria does not have enough universities to meet the demands of its school graduates,” said David Higgs, the Country Director of British Council, Nigeria. “I was given the figure by the Nigerian Universities Commission that only about 20 percent of school graduates actually get to the university. Part of the reason is due to the insufficient places here for people who want to study and therefore they look for other options. That is one reason why we’ve been working with universities here to expand the number of students they can register.” Build more Mr Higgs said that he supported the idea of building six more universities in the country to absorb more students who wish to study in the university. “Yes, because that is what every one else is doing in the rest of the world,” he said. “Universities are businesses now all over the world and they have to use different business models to sustain their business. As a result of that, they collaborate and they partner with other institutions in other parts of the world. I think universities have to behave like businesses in order to offer the best opportunities.” The education fair will hold at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on February 17 and 18; and at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, on February 21 and 22. According to Adetomi Soyinka, the Project Manager of British Council, Nigeria, the fair would be the best place to get a bargain in terms of options on education in the United Kingdom. “We have 60 schools registered to come into Lagos, both universities and colleges, and a very small percentage of them are boarding schools,” she said. “They would be there to promote their foundation programmes, undergraduate programmes, post-graduate programmes and professional development options.” Will they return? While responding to questions about whether Nigerian students who go to study abroad choose will return back to their home country after their studies, Mrs Soyinka noted that it was the trend now. “I seriously believe so, with the way the global economic situation is going right now, Nigeria is actually a better place to live than England,” she said. Similarly, Mr Higgs said that the economic situation in Nigeria is more favourable than that of Europe. “The economy globally is something very worrying now,” he said. “The global economic problem is less felt in Nigeria than its been in Europe. The brain drain is not a big issue in Nigeria. Nigerians are coming back.” However, Mr Higgs noted that there has been a decline in scholarship opportunities available to students across different countries. “Increasingly over the world, people have to borrow money to undertake their studies,” he said. “Its not the age of the scholarships anymore. There used to be a great deal more money donated to education before by governments, non-governmental organisations in the past. That kind of trend has diminished rapidly over the last 20 years. It is the trend now that the university is a life choice people make at a cost. The number of students going abroad to study all over the world on a scholarship is minimal. The ones that do are very lucky. Majority of people are making these investments themselves with their own support. Most of these students who come to this fair would end up getting on a plane to London with their family’s support.”
Feb32011