More Nigerian students at Australian universities

Newly crowned as Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria is the latest developing country to rapidly expand the number of international students it sends to Australia.

This year nearly double the number of Nigerians are studying in Australia compared to last year. Many of them are engineering students planning to work in the country’s oil industry.
By the end of May this year there were 923 Nigerian students enrolled in Australia, nearly double the number last year. Over 600 are in universities with nearly 250 in vocational education.
The University of NSW has seen an increase in numbers with 34 Nigerian students starting courses this year, compared with 12 last year and only four in 2012.
“It’s a zero to hero market,” said Aleksandr Voninski, UNSW’s executive director, international.
So much so that, in UNSW’s student intake for the about-to-commence second semester, Nigeria will be ahead of traditionally strong source countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan. Next year it is likely to be in universities’ top 10 source countries for international students, Mr Voninski said.
UNSW, which has one of Australia’s best regarded engineering schools, has homed in on the Nigerian market, as well as other African countries where increasing numbers of students are studying overseas. “We started doing more in Africa about three years ago,” Mr Voninski said.
UNSW now has a permanent representative in Nigeria, Walter Ngwu, who said there was strong demand for overseas education in Nigeria. Its 129 universities could only accept an intake of 520,000 students each year, compared with about 1.6 million students who sit the university entrance exam.
Most Nigerian students have traditionally gone to the United Kingdom, where the country is the third-largest supplier of students after China and India. However, the UK’s decision to clamp down on post-study work rights for international students has caused Nigerians to consider other destinations, Mr Ngwu said.
He said that Australia’s streamlined visa processing for international students, as well as its post-study work rights scheme which offers a two-year stay in Australia after graduation for bachelor degree students, were attractive to Nigerians.
However, there are obstacles to studying in Australia. “High tuition fees and distance from Nigeria remain major barriers,” Mr Ngwu said, noting that the UK was only a six-hour flight away.
Austrade is sponsoring an Australian education road-show in September this year to Nigeria and to nearby Ghana, from where there is also a growing number of students coming to Australia. So far Austrade has attracted interest from 22 universities and vocational education providers.
The general manager of Austrade’s government, ministerial and international education division, John Angley, said it was a very high priority for Austrade to promote emerging education markets such as sub-Saharan Africa.
The University of Adelaide is also looking hard at the African market.
“The middle class in Nigeria, and the Nigerian diaspora, is growing . . . more Nigerians are seeking a world-class education,” said Kent Anderson, the university’s pro vice-chancellor (international).
source: http://dailytrust.com.ng/daily/education/29960-more-nigerian-students-at-australian-universities

Tweet