International study may be expensive but the career prospects and returns on investments for the students come in many folds reports SAMPSON UNAMKA
Learning new skills and starting a new life have become the popular catchy phrase for European and American universities competing to recruit Nigerian students into their campuses.
Across the globe – Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, there is a growing belief that Nigerian students are just the raw intellectual diamonds waiting to make their academic classes more engaging. The best must come in return for scholarship and the promise of a good life.
And to Nigerians, the fees don’t matter, the night spent in isolation while gradually being forgotten by friends and family are not daunting, neither are the strange accents and languages that sound baffling.
Overseas studies come in many shapes and shades. It might be a six-week holiday camp, a semester programme, a year foundation study or a full undergraduate degree to postgraduate studies.
The benefits of studying abroad are as bright as broadening your mind, improving your career prospects and making friends from all over the world, according to Ms Ayobami Adebayo of Euro-American Study services, who represents over 60 universities and colleges across nine countries including United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Holland and Ireland.
But investigations have shown that many of these universities charge the equivalent of millions of naira in foreign currency as tuition fees.
For instance, an average foreign university charges about two and half million naira per session while a local private university charges about one third of that amount. Ayobami agreed that cost can be an issue, but she said the prospect of scholarship and global recognition of the certificates cannot be wished away.
“Wherever you go, the value of overseas study is far more than the monetary gains. Living and studying in another country offer a unique perspective, and provide the chance to travel, learn languages and meet people. In fact, the skills acquired by those who study overseas are clear. They are, by and large, better at communicating complex details. They’re also used to being put in group situations and are better at building a rapport quickly,” Ms Adebayo said.
She added that universities in Holland charge either low or no tuition fees with a relatively low cost of living, while others like UK and US schools offer a lot of scholarships, bursaries and grants to take students through their programmes.
“As you are looking at courses and fees, it’s important to check how the qualifications are regarded because while many degrees from local universities are recognised locally, European, American, Canadian and Australian universities enjoy a growing academic reputation.
“Therefore, their qualifications are internationally recognised and well thought of and that can make you more employable in many ways too, as we are operating in an increasingly global economy, where knowledge of different markets, cultures and languages is very important,” she said.
An IT specialist, Mr Kehinde Ogunleye, who studied for his Bachelor of Science degree in the U K, also averred that infrastructure must be significantly improved in Nigeria for the local universities to compete with overseas schools.
More so, he said, having a taste of another world cannot go wrong. “In fact, it was the best decision I ever made. I would definitely vote for an accomplished university in a developed society because of the global recognition of its certificates and the offer of different social activities. I was able to learn a lot of life skills, develop my sporting ability and now have friends all over the world. It was the best time of my life so far,” he said.
A Lagos based educationist, Mr Chuka Ikediashi, said the government and privately owned universities in Nigeria have not been on top of their infrastructure in terms of maintenance just as they have issues with curriculum despite the potential and human resources to be leaders world wide.
“I have seen some local universities offering computer studies with old style desktop computers scattered around a room called laboratory with cables lying all over the place in the name of connecting to internet. And the teachers are not properly motivated -not even a personal ipad of their own to catch up with the latest updates worldwide. So it is still very helpful to send our students out to learn more in the area of sciences, engineering and management sciences if that would help us to catch up with the rest of the world,” Ikediashi said.
Mr Ishola Shittu of Divine Assurance Travels noted that the government versus lecturer squabbles over pay resulting into endless industrial actions cause students to remain stuck to the same level for long and that do not portend well for good curriculum development.
“I have actually seen one ironic situation where a student purchased his ticket from my company to start undergraduate studies in the UK and returned after seven years with a Ph.D in engineering for his NYSC while an intern in my office already undergoing a diploma programme the sametime the boy was traveling overseas, who was only able to complete her first degree and they both met again at the NYSC camp for the national service,” he said.
Findings showed that applying to study abroad even come with the advantage of lower entrance requirements, flexible intake route and longer application window in January, April and September when compared with the local universities requirements in terms of admission eligibilities, which include course options and sticking to the single September admission window.
Overseas, the academic choices are as varied as you might find. For example, the US is known for continuous assessment, whereas in Europe, courses are more specialised and passing depends on one or two examinations. And this is in addition to its perks, which Ayobami described tourism magnets such as multicultural Europe; the Australia waves and the cultural quirks of the US and Canada.
Ayobami, a former banker, who runs a tourism and hospitality business provided further insights into the recruitment and the admission process of Nigerian students by these foreign universities when asked about the leading destination of Nigerian students.
“I would say many Nigerians prefer the UK, US and Canada in that order while Australia and New Zealand are just emerging as a force because of its offer of employment and other opportunities after studies. Many were able to find employment and support their families back home after their studies.
Regarding the admission process, she said: “We facilitate the process all year round through our partnership arrangement with the universities and other organisations. We engage with the prospective students to help them decide on the country, course, city and university. This is very important for suitability purposes. We then proceed to verify their documents to ensure they are genuine. And thereafter complete the admission forms and forward to the school with recommendation on behalf of the prospective students.”
When asked if the negative news from Nigeria does not deter the foreign schools from coming to recruit more Nigerian students, Ayobami said the integrity of agent/partner such as Euro- American Study Services, have been very helpful. “The Universities trust us to act on their behalf because of our long-standing integrity and straightforwardness in dealing with students issues such as identifying genuine students, verifying their certificates, helping with selection of courses and completing the placement arrangement including travel, ticketing and overseas accommodation arrangement.
While some argue on the cost of oversea’s education, many are of the view that the benefits of studying abroad – such as broadening your mind, improving career prospects and making friends from all over the world can make digging out your passport really rewarding.
