Nigerians, other international students to pay more in UK varsities
, As students protest enters Day 2
From ADEWALE SANYAOLU, Manchester, United Kingdom
Friday, November 26, 2010


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Photo: Sun News Publishing
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Nigerians wishing to acquire British university certificates should brace up for more financial commitments. The United Kingdom Government is set to initiate a new regime of tuition fees which would see Nigerians and their counterparts from other parts of the globe pay more.

However, students’ protest across the UK entered its second day yesterday over the proposed fee hike. The proposed fee hike regime would compel Nigerians and other international students from outside the European Union (EU) member countries to pay more for university education both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Currently, Nigerians studying for either undergraduate or any of the postgraduate research or taught programmes pay between £8,000 to £9,000 per annum but under the new regime of fees to commence in 2012, international students would have to pay between £13,000 and £15,000 depending on the programme.
The fee hike is also to affect British, Wales, Northern Ireland and other EU nationals wishing to study in any UK university from 2012. Currently, British and other EU nationals pay £3,290 per annum, a figure which is to rise to £9,000 when the fee hike regime takes effect.

Investigations by Daily Sun showed that the recognised universities in the United Kingdom had a total of 20, 090 Nigerian students in 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 sessions. While 10,000 students were admitted to UK universities in the 2007/2008 session, the figure increased to 10,090 in the 2008/2009 session. About 3,000 students from across UK gathered in Manchester City Centre to protest government plans.

The Daily Sun reporter who witnessed the protest in Manchester yesterday discovered that the students disrupted public peace and destroyed property in the course of the protest. In an interview with Daily Sun, a Nigerian postgraduate student in the Department of Human Resource Management (HRM) in the University of Salford, Manchester, Mr. Afeez Olalekan Olawoyin explained that the reason by the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron for the proposed fee hike remained unjustifiable.

Olawoyin maintained that the argument by Cameron that the fee increase was meant to make UK universities competitive with its peers in the US, China and other parts of the world, while also raising its standard, was not tenable.

The HRM international postgraduate student argued that the proposed fee hike should have left out international students who over time have had to pay thrice the fees British nationals were paying, with almost a yearly increase.
“So, with this proposed hike, I believe international students should be left out of the whole fee hike proposition. We have always been the ones funding British university education. For instance, in 2009, income from international students was £2.2 billion. That to me is a staggering figure. And I believe this is the time for international students to enjoy some liberty from relaxed fee hike,” he said.

http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/nov/26/national-26-11-2010-008.htm

i think the uk government is using the international fees to subsidise the home student fees.
anyway, i think nigerians should study in usa, asia or other eu countries because it is cheaper. especially for the nigerian citizens that want to go back to nigeria after uni, i do not think nigerian companies want to now the country you studied in all they want to know is your degree and experience.

jason12345:

i think the uk government is using the international fees to subsidise the home student fees.
anyway, i think nigerians should study in usa, asia or other eu countries because it is cheaper. especially for the nigerian citizens that want to go back to nigeria after uni, i do not think nigerian companies want to now the country you studied in all they want to know is your degree and experience.

You think Nigerians should study in the USA? You are just thinking? FYI, British edu sucks compared to American edu. Check university rankings. UK ivy league equivalents are nowhere near the US's.

igbobuigbo:

You think Nigerians should study in the USA? You are just thinking? FYI, British edu sucks compared to American edu. Check university rankings. UK ivy league equivalents are nowhere near the US's.

Why all these study abroad?Nigerians should study in nigeria

igbobuigbo:

You think Nigerians should study in the USA? You are just thinking? FYI, British edu sucks compared to American edu. Check university rankings. UK ivy league equivalents are nowhere near the US's.

okay, maybe i not usa. but nigerians are quite smart and i believe they would be good anywhere they go.

but certainly eu and asia because of the fees. also, i dont think nigerian companies really care about the country you studied in as long as  it is abroad. so, it is actually beneficial for nigerians with "low income" to school in those countries.

asha 80:

Why all these study abroad?Nigerians should study in nigeria

nigerian students are tried with all the strike actions happening here and there. imagine a 4 yr program enlongated because of a strike action to about 6 yrs . i think it is quite frustrating and since other countries (including ghana) don't have as much strike actions, then they(students) should seek an alternative

Jonathan is building more Federal Universities so no worries

more options, they say!