- This topic has 0 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 3 years ago by
.
-
Posts
-
-
As a lack of spaces in Nigerian higher education leaves the majority of college entrance exam takers without a place in higher education, budget conscious would-be international students are becoming more interested in alternative destinations outside of the “Big Five” study destinations.
According to figures from Campus France’s Chiffres Cles 2021 report, Nigeria saw 76,338 students head abroad to study in 2018, a drop of 11% which the report attributed to the drop in oil prices, the depreciation of the local currency and the lack of international purchasing power among the Nigerian middle class.
The 2020 edition of the report did suggest that this had led to some reconsideration of study destinations. Between 2012 and 2017, the UK saw at 27% drop in international students from Nigeria. However, in the same year “just under one in four mobile Nigerian students chose another country of Sub-Saharan Africa as their study destination”, including Ghana and Benin.
“We have Canada really emerging strongly [as well as] Malaysia and South Africa. I also think China is one country we should all watch out for because we’ve seen an increase in the number of students headed to China in the last two years based on lots of scholarships being available for them,” explained Folashade Adebayo, senior education adviser at the US Embassy Abuja, Nigeria, in a recent PIE Live webinar.
“[In the US] we’ve seen an increase in students and parents interested in historically black colleges. A lot of people are really looking at affordability so HBCU schools are coming into the limelight. And a lot of students are pursuing that option just because of scholarship opportunities.”
Other stakeholders are starting to take a tech-based approach. The MyStudyPath platform, for example, has been launched by Imperial Education Services to help students find study abroad opportunities and connect with institutions online within their budget.“There’s something in our company we call the three Cs,” explained Lanre Ogundipe, and education consultant at IES.
“The three Cs are basically the three major considerations that Nigerian students consider before they make a journey abroad: the cost of the education, the course of study and the country.
“Sometimes we get enquiries from students who want to study in the UK, and we ask them what’s their budget and they tell you $2,000,” he continued.
“So you have let them understand that I’m sorry but you can’t study in the US or the UK with $2,000. However, there’s an opportunity for you to study in Lithuania or Poland.”
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.