The wide and rapid impact of tertiary education isn’t questionable in any growing economy. Some of the best inventions were from scholars with much knowledge. This is why an educated economy or society is envied by all countries because of how they are ahead of others. For instance, Germany, the USA, Canada, and the United Kingdom are still reaping the dividends of investing in education. Although not immediate, are worth it.
When you think of higher education, Nigeria might not be the first country that comes to mind. There are indeed many challenges that the country faces in providing a robust infrastructure and system for higher education to its people. However, there is a new realization of these challenges and the government appears to be committed to improving the circumstances in the higher education sector.
3 Compelling Reasons to Pursue Nigerian University Education
Many innovations like penicillin, the internet, and the computer resulted from the schooling environment or via research projects. This is no wonder why more and more countries heavily invest in their education sector. It's quite unfortunate that Nigeria still weighing if the investment in education would be worth it.
This is very awful and it is no surprise that young people, graduates, and other working class seek educational opportunities abroad. Despite these cons of the Nigerian University Education, There are beautiful reasons to study at Nigerian University. They are listed below.
Good Foundation and Reinforced Contextual Knowledge
You know growing up, you have lots of notes on almost every subject. Nigerian schools teach you theoretical know-how. Although there's little practical on these subjects or courses, with this background knowledge, you can confidently get your hands on subject matters in that course. This is because your writing, speech, and behavior reflect what you know and learn, a valuable tool in the learning process.
This is why every Nigerian teacher and school emphasizes theory for background study. Nigerian Universities have bred and still breed some truly skillful and successful individuals. Nigeria has the highest number of young entrepreneurs on the successful entrepreneur list. There's a list of them below but the striking thing among these is that they all began their journey to success on Nigeria’s soils.
They all had their education in the country. Others who studied abroad much later in their lives, still have the theoretical foundation and are raised into success with ease. The likes of Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed Falalu, the owner of Falgates, a company that farms and mills rice, is a perfect example of this. A 31 year old already been listed in Forbes’ “30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs in Africa (2018)”.
There's also Oluwatobi Ajayi, another Nigerian and the co-founder of Jetvan. An Etop Ikpe, the man who founded Cars45, can also be found on the list. Foundation is a vital aspect of education and with this in place, there's no limit for them and no place they won’t be able to go. Their steps are confidence and assuredness.
In the words of John Dewey, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself,” and truer words have never been spoken.
Ease of Admission and Reduced Cost
The low minimum wage in the country poses a hurdle for parents who want to train their children abroad, except if you're from a wealthy family or are on a scholarship, Thankfully, Nigerian universities are to the rescue. Tuition fees in Nigerian universities are affordable compared to abroad and private institutions like the British International School in Lagos.
With the state of the economy, there's a need to go to schools that offers good value at a minimal cost. Schools like OAU, UNN, UI, and UNILAG, to list but a few, still offer value at a subsidized rate. Instances of Nigerian students studying abroad paying their sophomore-year tuition but can't keep up after that, propelling them to seek loans to complete their studies.
As a result, they continue to pay these loans years after they have graduated. Also, gaining admission into Nigerian universities is not quite easy, per se, but compared with other colleges abroad, securing admission in Nigeria is somewhat simpler. Unlike entry into foreign universities, students must satisfy several requirements and extracurriculars that are costly. As a result, the application process can be long and stressful too.
The Nigerian system needs just the O-Level, UTME, and Post-UTME results. The system presents more flexibility through exams like Joint University Preliminary Education Board (JUPEB), Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB), and Cambridge A-Level. Prospective undergraduates can use this if their UTME or Post-UTME doesn’t turn out well.
Increased Adaptations and investments
Aside from practicality and convenience sakes, the chase for abroad study isn't very much significant. This is because most Nigerian universities have adapted to Online learning. All thanks to the easy availability of mobile phones. Moreover, learning in this Gen z age, the younger population finds it comfortable to use this technology for educational purposes.
This is a good tool for extending the availability of education in the higher education sector. There are various websites and online university resources that students can use to augment the learning experience in the classroom and to access aids that the government is unable to provide. As mentioned earlier, the government has neglected this sector for a long time.
Thankfully, the government is eventually taking the bold step to make more funds available to the higher education sector in the country. As of now, there are about 160 universities and 177 colleges in Nigeria that form most of the higher education sector. This is due to the rising numbers of Nigerians of university-going age.
The government is trying to enhance the standards for student admissions as well as the appointment of lecturers based on high-quality appointments. Also, the examination system is enhanced and the prerequisites for awarding degrees are also being modified to make degree programs competitive and increase the employability of their graduates.
Also, the research culture is now imbibed in Nigerian universities. This is one reason why now is the best time to pursue a higher education degree in Nigeria. With these developments, The Times Higher Education rankings included 4 Nigerian universities. One of the universities, namely Covenant University, is currently ranking in the top 500 universities on an international level. This is impressive.
With the improvements in place, it is expected that in the coming years, the International rankings of the Nigerian universities would increase, there'll be international students, and an end to the recent brain drain in Nigeria.
