7 Reasons why Nigerian students prefer to study abroad

The rate at which Nigerian students relocate abroad to study has continually been on the increase. Every year has witnessed a significant rise in the numbers of students migrating abroad for education despite the huge costs of financing such moves.

Students who leave Nigeria to study abroad are usually there for either their undergraduate or post graduate programs.

The United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, Eastern Europe and a few Asian countries are usually the most sought after destinations for Nigerian students. Also, Ghana and some other African countries have also become destinations for Nigerian students studying abroad.

7 Reasons why Nigerian students prefer to study abroad

The high flow of Nigerian students studying abroad has been attributed to the poor state of education in the country. Nigeria’s tertiary institutions are very much under funded.

Also, corruption in the government and the educational system has also slowed down the growth of Nigerian institutions.

Another major problem is the inability of the nation’s institutions to accommodate it’s continuously rising population.

All this and many more reasons which will be duly highlighted in the article are the motives for the constant migration of Nigerian students.

1. Low quality of Nigerian higher institutions

Nigerian institutions lacks the capability to compete with top institutions around the world in terms of standard and quality. This is simply because institutions in Nigeria are poorly funded and therefore cannot meet up with the demands.

As a matter of fact, Nigerian universities have always struggled to accommodate students in dear need of tertiary education. According to statistics provided by jamb in its official website. In 2015, only  415,500 out of 1,428,379 applicants were admitted into various universities in the country. This leaves out over a million applicants without admission.

Also, lack of conducive and quality learning facilities, deplorable state of infrastructures, lack of qualified lecturers, corruption, poor social welfare packages for students among many others are some of the many problems that have contributed to the low quality of Nigerian higher institutions and it has also inevitably led to the migration of Nigerian students to higher institutions abroad.

Read Also: Best Universities in Nigeria-University Ranking

2. Incessant strikes

Nigerian universities are always constantly ravaged by unending strikes. Whenever the universities are on strike, the students are the ones who suffers the most as academic activities are put on hold.

Consequently, this affects their academic programs as the stipulated completion time is automatically increased. This is also one of the major reasons why students from Nigeria prefer to study abroad where there will be no issue of strike.

3. Better job opportunities

According to data from the National Bureau Of Statistics (NBS). The year 2015 witnessed an increase in the labour force as well as an increase in the number of unemployed people in Nigeria.

The statistic puts the number of the labour force at 76.96 million while the number of unemployed people stood at 22.45 million. This is a bad and scary precedence for students in Nigeria.

This is another reason why students who have the means to study abroad gladly take the opportunity rather than study in Nigeria where the chances of securing a good job after graduation is relatively low.

Read Also: 15 ways to make money as a student

4. Preference for foreign certificates

Employers of labour in Nigeria tend to prefer people who studied abroad, especially in countries with better quality of education.

Such people are usually rated above those that studied in Nigeria’s indigenous institutions. This is because the employers believe that they have acquired quality education abroad and were also exposed to better learning facilities and as a result, they are much more skilled than graduates from our local institutions.

Also, certificates from highly developed countries can hardly be questioned, unlike in Nigeria where corruption is the order of the day.

Since employers tend to prefer graduates who studied abroad, a lot of Nigerian students will prefer to study abroad in order to have an edge over their counterparts whenever they finally return to the country for job hunting.

Read Also: Top 10 Skills in High Demand in Nigeria Currently

5. Low cost of living

In developed countries, the cost of living is relatively low compared to what we have in Nigeria and this is due to their buzzing economy. Also, the way in which the economy and education is structured in such countries gives students the chance to school and work at the same time. Most schools in the USA allows students to apply for education aid to take care of their tuition and living espenses. A typical example is UF Financial Aid.

This is a plus for students who study abroad because through the proceeds of their job, they can support themselves as well. In such countries, a working student can make as much as government workers in Nigeria. This is another reason why Nigerian students prefer to study abroad, especially in much more developed countries.

See: How To Get a Scholarship In Nigeria

6. Behavioral development

Studying abroad, especially in developed countries improves the student’s mentality and personal behavior. Students who study in developed countries tends to be more civilized and law abiding as lawlessness which is very rampant in Nigeria is not tolerated in such countries.

Studying abroad also teaches students how to survive on their own and also help them learn how to tolerate people, especially people of different race and nationality.

7. Advanced teaching methods

Higher institutions abroad employs better teaching methods and modern teaching facilities to aid the student’s learning process. In institutions abroad, classes are not over crowded, students are always exposed to practicals, unlike in Nigeria where everything is theorized.

For students who are very concerned with understanding their course perfectly, studying abroad is usually the most preferred option because they will be exposed to superior teaching methods, quality learning facilities and a conducive environment.

Read Also: 5 Tips to Excel as an Undergraduate Student in Nigeria

As long as urgent measures are not taken to salvage the rot in the higher education sector, Nigeria will continue to witness higher figures of student’s emigration to various countries abroad to further their education.

This trend, in the long run will be of great detriment to the country as a higher rate of student migration will unavoidably pave way for a massive brain drain in the country. This will also have an adverse effect on the nation’s economy.

📢 We are hiring writers!