‘Nigerians stand better chances studying in Germany than most overseas countries’

Overseas study has become the trend of the 21st century as multinationals and corporate organisations increasingly seek employees with broader skills and wider knowledge of the world. Following a recent seminar in Lagos to create awareness on tuition-free study opportunities in Germany, Henry Oluoma, CEO, Olco Multibusiness Limited, a consulting firm that offers study abroad services and educational tours for children, among other services, stopped by BusinessDay head office in Apapa, Lagos, where he had a chat with CHUKS OLUIGBO, assistant editor, and STEPHEN ONYEKWELU, education correspondent. He spoke on a number of issues bordering on tuition-free study in Germany and other services offered by his firm. Excerpts:

You recently held a seminar in Lagos to talk about tuition-free study programmes in Germany. Could you enlighten us about it?
The seminar was held on December 2 in Lagos. Apart from those who attended from Lagos, we got a number of people coming in from Abuja, from Port Harcourt, from Owerri as well specifically for the seminar. It shows people are very much interested. We decided to hold that seminar to create awareness because we realized that many Nigerians do not know about this tuition-free study programme offered in Germany. And secondly, Nigerians tend to believe that the education system in Germany only runs in German. That was one of the questions that kept coming up at the seminar, people think that all studies in Germany can only be undertaken in German and that’s what puts many people off.
Germany offers tuition-free programmes for all students, both local and international. The country has been embracing international students for the past 30-40 years. They are welcoming especially international students because Germany is an ageing country and so is looking to having skilled immigrants into the country. So, they try to attract foreign students into the country to study and at the same time reside after study, not travelling back to their home countries after study as we see it happen in the UK or in the US.

When you say tuition-free study, what exactly does it mean?
Tuition-free means you are paying practically no fee for the entire period of your study in Germany, whether bachelor’s, master’s or PhD programme, unlike what happens in other countries where you have to cough out as much as $20,000 or £15,000 as tuition fee. What the student caters for is his/her basic living expenses – feeding, housing, health insurance, and others.

But even basic living expenses should amount to a whole lot. How does the student survive?
There are many opportunities in Germany, especially for students. There are a lot of jobs, part-time jobs for students. A normal part-time job for a student in Germany could pay as much as €600-700 monthly, that’s for 20 hours a week that students are allowed to work; some work just two hours per day and earn about €600 a month. Statistics show that, on the average, students need about €600 per month to survive in Germany, though some African students would argue that they could survive with lesser amount, as little as €450. Basically, the major expenses are accommodation, which costs about €150 a month, health insurance of about €70 a month, and then feeding. Because food is cheap in Germany, people could actually feed with as low as €50-100 in a month. So, with €500-600 in a month a student can survive in Germany.

Does the tuition-free programme apply to all universities in Germany or to some specific universities?
It applies to almost 90 percent of universities in Germany. There are over 425 universities in Germany and most of them are funded by the German Ministry of Education. So anyone that studies in any of these universities doesn’t pay a dime.

Language barrier used to be a big turn-off for many Nigerians who wanted to study in Germany in the past. What is the situation now?
That problem has been partly solved because currently most universities in Germany offer courses, especially postgraduate courses, in English language. So the language barrier has reduced unlike how it used to be before, and the society is now welcoming foreigners unlike before. It could be argued that about 30 years ago foreigners weren’t very welcome in Germany the way they are today. You see a black man today being the CEO of an organization in Germany, that wasn’t the case some 30 years ago. These days they allow skilled immigrants to actually come up and show themselves, even in politics.

Beyond helping students to get admission and get into Germany, are there other services you render to them?
We understand how difficult it could be for students that have not travelled before, especially children within the range of 18-19 years going to Germany to study for the first time. So, we follow up with the process of their visa application, and when they are admitted and arrive in Germany, we offer them pickup service from the airport because if you don’t know anyone around, it could be very difficult; everyone speaks German out there. We help them get accommodation in the schools over there in Germany; we take them to the school, help them with the arrangement, and show them how things work for a period of two or three days.

You have been doing this for five years. What has been the experience and what challenges have you met along the way?
It has been a very positive experience for me. We have processed over 30 students in the last couple of years, not only at the undergraduate level but also master’s and PhD students. PhD students always get automatic scholarship from funding bodies in Germany.
Over the years visa application seems to be where the problem is for many applicants. Students need to provide a proof of financial backup up to about €8,000. The German Embassy expects each student to have an account with a minimum amount of €8,000 in his/her name in Germany. This account is opened by the student via the German Embassy here in Nigeria. When the account is opened and the €8,000 deposited, the statement of account is printed and attached to the admission letter and with these the embassy issues the student a visa. The major challenge we have had in the past is with students being unable to provide this proof of financial backup to the embassy after gaining admission. Often you see that after obtaining the admission letter, these students find it difficult to raise this sum to open the account, so you find the students missing out because of this inability. The other option they have is to either get a scholarship or get a guarantor letter, which we sometimes help them get in Germany as well.

Talk to us about the other part of what you do – educational tour. How does it work?
What we do is we take school children within the ages of 13-19 to different places in Europe, especially Germany, except when the school specifically requests to take the students to other Schengen states. We plan a tour for them – the tour is usually for about seven days. The minimum number of children is 15 and the maximum is 45. We come down to Nigeria and pick the children up, then we take them to Germany, put them in youth hostels and then go according to the planned tour. The tour plan could take them to Berlin, to the museums to see what they are like, to secondary schools in Berlin to see how students in their age group attend classes, and sometimes to the European Parliament to see how the EU ministers make their laws. We give them this exposure because we understand that international knowledge has become a necessity in this globalised world. Some of the children might also want to study abroad in the future, so we expose them early enough to the pattern of life in these western countries where they may find themselves in the future.

You studied in Germany as well. What was the experience for you and what would you tell young Nigerians wishing to study in Germany?
When I studied in Germany there were no courses offered in English language – that was some 20 years ago. But English courses have been introduced in the last 10 years because the world has become a global village and Germans want to attract more foreigners to come study in Germany. Studying in Germany for me was a good thing because the knowledge and skills I gained, I wouldn’t have got them if I had studied in the UK or elsewhere, for instance. I know because I have a couple of friends who studied in the UK, and after my undergraduate studies in Germany I did a one-year Erasmus programme in the UK as well. Secondly, after your studies in Germany you will be able to live in the country, unlike in other countries where you are asked to go back to your home country after your study. German authorities allow you to stay in Germany for two years after your study. Within this period you could seek for a job in your field of study. When you get a job in your field of study, they can then offer you a permanent residence permit for you to stay in the country. They have realized that they spend a lot in training the students and at the end of the day the students go somewhere else to work. They noticed they have been at the losing end, they wanted to create this added value, so they changed their laws to allow these students to stay back after their studies. After two years of work, you are eligible to apply for German citizenship as long as no crime is committed in the country.

 

CHUKS OLUIGBO and STEPHEN ONYEKWELU