Would you like to know the countries Nigerians troop into in numbers for foreign education?
Every year, approximately 1.9 million Nigerian school leavers sit for compulsory entrance exams into 150 public and private universities in the country.
Higher institutions can only accept about 600,000 students. Add that to the poor perception of the Nigerian education system, then it’s no surprise that abroad is the destination for many Nigerian students seeking quality higher education.
So where do most Nigerian students go to study?
In a recent study (2016), UNESCO revealed statistics of countries around the world that attract the most Nigerian students. It referred to Nigerian students that are enrolled in part-time, full-time and distance learning undergraduate and postgraduate programmes abroad.
Below are the top 10 countries for Nigerian students to study abroad according to UNESCO research in ascending order.
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Nigerians represent one of the numerous groups of all foreign students studying in the Eastern European countries of Russia and Ukraine. Currently, more than 3300 Nigerian students are studying in Ukraine. Also, with the Bilateral Education Agreement between Nigeria and Russia, through the Federal Ministry of Education, the number of Nigerian students studying in Russia is gradually increasing over the past few years. UNESCO placed the figure at 777 Nigerian students studying in Russia in 2016.
Hungary according to the most recent UNESCO survey is gradually becoming a destination country for foreign education. Three-quarters of international students arriving in Hungary come from only ten countries, while one-quarter of the students arrive from another 100 countries. One of these ten countries includes Nigeria. Hungary has attracted more than a thousand Nigerian students owing to its sophisticated medical program. The University of Debrecen is one of the best and most widely-known schools in the country and has over 700 Nigerian students, more than half of that number undertaking courses in the medical field.
Universities in UAE also feature in the world university ranking. In addition, a number of highly ranked universities based in other countries have branch campuses in the UAE. These include branch campuses run by Australia’s University of Wollongong, the UK’s Middlesex University and the USA’s Michigan State University. Of more than 200 international branch campuses in the world in 2016, 41 were located in UAE, making UAE the home to more branch campuses than any other country in the world. This is part of the ambition of the Emirates, in particular Abu Dhabi and Dubai, to become educational hubs, without compromising quality. About 1,755 Nigerian students were reported studying in UAE in 2016.
You may be surprised to find Saudi Arabia on the list. But it will interest you to know that, there were 1,915 Nigerian students reported studying in Saudi Arabia in 2016. Arab States; Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are making efforts to recruit students from abroad. These 3 countries hosted 4% of the global share of mobile students.
In terms of internationalization and collaboration with foreign institutions, which are major requirements for successful evaluation and ranking of high institutions, South African universities are leading other African unis. The country attracted 32% of mobile students from sub-Saharan Africa in 2016 and is fast becoming a study destination for Nigerian students, with a reported population of 2,525 in 2016. One downside (apart from the recent xenophobic attacks on other Africans) according to this article by a Nigerian student who went for postgraduate studies in South Africa, is that non-South African students struggle to access scholarships despite all kinds of local and international funding available in South Africa.
Canadian universities and colleges are recognized for their high standards for education, variety of programs and friendliness to international students. UNESCO reported 3,257 Nigerian students studying in Canada in 2016. According to Ambassador Perry John Calderwood, Canadian High Commissioner in Nigeria, more than 6,000 were studying in Canadian universities in 2014. He also said that Nigeria has become the 8th largest source of foreign students in Canada. There are available Scholarships to study in Canada.
The Malaysian government has set the ambitious goal to become the world’s sixth-largest education exporter by 2020. As a result, the Malaysian higher education sector is rapidly advancing, making it a popular study choice for international students. According to Vanguard News, about 13000 Nigerian students are in Malaysian universities. However, there have been several reported cases of them being marginalized in this country. Constant intimidation, harassment and illegal arrests by Malaysian authorities. Such cases resulted in an open letter to President Jonathan by Nigerian students in Malaysia, to intervene on their behalf. But it’s still a study destination for 13,000 Nigerians due to its low cost of living, relatively low tuition fees and global recognition of academic qualification. The Malaysian Government also offers scholarships to its international students.
The US has some of the best schools in the world, with quality education and tons of extra-curricular activities. It’s no doubt why it’s the second country on the list for Nigerian students. In 2014, the United States Embassy noted that 7,318 Nigerian students were studying in more than 700 universities and colleges in the US, at undergraduate and graduate levels. According to Mrs Jennifer Onyeukwu, Head Education USA Advising Centre (EAC), 80 per cent of the Nigerian students who left to study in the US in 2014 were given partial and full scholarships by the schools. Six students received the MasterCard Foundation Scholarship of $311,140 each annually for 4 years.
In a public lecture by Lamido Sanusi, former CBN governor, he said, “Although there are no comprehensive data on the number of Nigerian students abroad, recent data have shown that there are about 71,000 Nigerian students in Ghana paying about US$1 billion annually as tuition fees and upkeep, as against the annual budget of US$751 million for all Nigerian federal universities”. This number reported by the former CBN governor is wide apart from the UNESCO report of 13,919 Nigerian students studying in Ghana as of 2016, a whopping 50% rise from figures as of 2012. Whatever the case, the point is that Ghana is a top destination for many Nigerians to further their studies.
The UK remains the number one destination for Nigerian students to study abroad. In 2016, there were 17,973 Nigerians studying in UK universities. Mr Iain Steward, a member of the British Parliament, said that about 30,000 Nigerian students would be studying in UK Universities by 2020. This number accounts for 7% of the total UK University population. As a result, there are several UK Scholarships opportunities for Nigerian Students and more scholarships every year.
The other 5 countries with Nigerian students studying abroad were India – with 1,260 students, Egypt – with 1,189 students, Australia – with 949 students, Turkey – with 876 students and Germany with – 845 Nigerian students as of 2016.
Again the figures presented here may be underreported, but we assume it gives a representation of countries where you can find most Nigerian students.