Many Nigerian students studying abroad have been seeking transfer to Nigerian universities to complete their education at home because of the scarcity of foreign exchange.
According to a reliable source, it was gathered that the students were forced to take the decision following the huge exchange rate which many parents could no longer afford.
Some of the students told Saturday PUNCH that they would prefer to return to the country to complete their studies, instead of going through difficulties and long waits for forex that is no longer available to them at the appropriate time.
An Ogun State indigene, Babatunde Agboola, who is studying in the United States, told one of our correspondents that he and some of his friends had agreed to return to Nigeria to complete their studies.
“The message we keep on receiving from home every day is that dollar is scarce and this is affecting our education,” Agboola said.
Asked which way the scarcity of the dollar was affecting them, he simply said, “In all areas. We need to buy food and sometimes books, but when there is no money to buy them, automatically we will be affected. So, it is better we return to Nigeria to complete our studies.”
A large number of Nigerian students are studying abroad, mainly in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, among others.
A 2015 report by the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, the United States, claimed that 9,494 students from Nigeria were admitted in the 2014/15 academic session, making Nigeria the leading source of students from Africa and the 15th largest country worldwide among international students in the US.
Nigerian universities, especially the private ones, have however, expressed interest in providing spaces for willing students interested in their respective institutions.
The universities assured the concerned students of standard learning facilities like those found in tertiary institutions abroad.
For instance, Babcock University said it was interested in accepting transfer students.
It allayed the fears of concerned parents who could not afford expensive forex and urged them to seek placements for their children in the institution.
The university also promised interested students world-class learning facilities.
It listed integration of international professional certifications into academic programmes and well structured and uninterrupted academic programmes, among others, as some of the benefits interested students were bound to enjoy.
A senior official of Babcock University told one of our correspondents on the telephone that many foreign students had been seeking transfer to the institution.
He said the opportunity was open to Nigerians who actually left the country to school abroad and those who were born there.
The official said, “It is surprising that many parents said their children would not have completed their education abroad, but for the opportunity created by Babcock University to assist stranded students.
“So many people have been coming to us to seek advice on how to handle their transfer. All they need to do is to apply and come with their transcripts.
“The opportunity is open to every interested person, including Nigerians born abroad, but interested in continuing their education in Nigeria.”
When asked how the standard of the certificates of those born abroad could be determined in Nigeria, the official said, “That one is not a problem; there is a way we usually grade the certificates.”
Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State, has admitted a few of the students who sought transfer from abroad to the institution.
A senior official of the institution, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “One student was admitted into one of the social sciences departments, he came from one of the foreign universities to complete his studies here. He requested for transfer and he was offered.”
The Registrar, Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Alhaja Rasheedat Oladimeji, expressed the hope that the university would record influx of foreign transfer of students.
She, however, stated that the university had just started admission for the next academic session and was hopeful that some foreign students would seek transfer to the institution.
The spokesperson for Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Mr. Afeez Olaniyi, said the institution was prepared to accept returnee foreign students.
“We will be glad to receive them. Yes, we do accept foreign students if they meet the requirements. We have been accepting over the years,” he said.
The Admissions Officer of Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, Mr. Adewale Ayewole, also said the institution would gladly receive any returnee student, stating, “If they have the right qualification, we will accept them. If the course the student wants to study is run in our school, we will accept them.”
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