Nigerians are responding to incentives designed to attract international students to advanced economies, where the population is often ageing and younger generations think it is not necessary to reproduce.
Countries in the Scandinavia (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway) and others such as Belgium, Germany and Canada have tuition free Masters programmes, which are motivating Nigerians to take advantage of the opportunities offered.
Norwegian state universities and university colleges as a rule do not charge tuition fees to all students including international students. This applies to all levels, including undergraduate studies, Masters programmes and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programmes. However, students will have to pay a semester fee of NOK 300-600 ($38.67 – $77.33) each semester.
Since October 2014, all Universities in Germany stopped charging any tuition fees for bachelor’s and consecutive master’s degree programmes for all students including international students.
In some Federal States, Universities will charge a semester contribution (about 50 euros) and/or administration fees (about 50 euros). This tuition fee structure can change in the future; and international students are advised to regularly update their information. For example, the federal state of Baden-Württemberg will begin charging tuition fees (for Bachelor’s, Master’s, Diplom and state examination degree programmes) of €1,500 per semester for non-EU citizens from the winter semester 2017/18.
“My sister who used to work as manager for a resort in Epe, Lagos, just relocated with all her family to Canada to take advantage of both tuition free masters programmes and the point system based immigration policy in Canada” Tola Balogun, who left Nigeria in her teens to study in the United Kingdom and United States of America said. “My sister in Belgium and a friend in Austria are both studying for Master’s in those countries on a tuition-free basis.”
The banking sector, while not necessarily the worst hit is haemorrhaging high-skill workers. “A bank’s branch manager friend of mine relocated to Canada, six months ago. For, me this is a clear sign that there must be something Canada is doing right” Emeka Okafor, an Information Technology expert with a multinational company said. “I would soon leave for Canada as well” Okafor added.
Many reasons coalesce to drive this outbound movement of high skill Nigerians. According to a survey, taken by almost 90,000 people, 47 percent of Nigeria’s university graduates are unemployed, in Africa’s largest economy. By some estimates Nigerian tertiary education institutions produce up to 500,000 graduates every year and there are also Nigerian graduates who study abroad who come home to compete for jobs.
Jobberman says the new data is a sign of the “need for urgent actions on both public and private sector operators”. In the last few years, as the number of unemployed university graduates has climbed, employers have attributed the problem to the quality of university education and have described some graduates as ‘unemployable’ as they lack required skills.
Nigeria’s university system, which holds about 150 schools, is mostly over-populated and can only cater to 40 percent of applicants annually. This suggests that universities likely struggle to deliver quality education as resources are stretched.
“The current quality and quantity of investment in this young generation in health and education just aren’t good enough. So, I was very direct,” Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft told CNN in an interview after his recent visit to Nigeria.
The sentiment is also shared among Nigerian parents who, according to StudySearch, a London-based educational start-up, are estimated to save as much as $50,000 to finance their children’s education outside the country. Primarily, while criticism of local universities is valid in some cases, parents also believe foreign education provides an edge in a very competitive labor market.
