lakode:

So you guys don't rewrite exams, hmmm , maybe , I studied my masters in Europe and thats the norms in few schools , well I cant generalize , for me studying abroad is far easy and all my friends studying abroad also concur to this view, really it depends on individual , plus I will like you guys to check out some Dept in Nigeria Uni e.g Medicine in UI , or Geology IN OAU , Then you will see you cant also Generalize some Dept can be compared with any in the world

What about Geology in UI; Its kinda tuff out there. Thats the truth cos i passed through it. So i know wat i'm talking about!

studies is hell outside Nigeria but good Uk assignmnets makes u really to think research, my first exam one of the papers was open book and I failed in Nigeria that Na* Expo !! but u don't copy u use yr head. explain what u know.

buzugee:

ahhhhhhhhhh another reason why american unis are easier ? its all A B C or D type questions

is that so?

geosegun:

What about Geology in UI; Its kinda tuff out there. Thats the truth cos i passed through it. So i know wat i'm talking about!

Cut that crap,U.I or no U.I , you can never compare USA geology with that of Nigeria.I spent a semester in FUTA for my masters before coming to the USA.The difference is so clear,USA is far stressful. How many geological papers do u write a semester in U.I, How many nights have you spent working with the petrological microscope, Do u even know what the Scanning electron Microscope is , How many Electrical or mud logs do u interprete in your petroleum geology class, have you spent sleepless nights trying to correlate 6 or more well logs and trying to discover where the fault(s) is, Have you spent weeks contouring maps and looking for spill points, traps,Gas water Content or Oil water content OR seismic looking for onlap,off lap etc. have you even been to the oil field to prospect before, How many petroleum software such as Petrel, Geographix etc have you spent weeks working on ? Please,dont let me start counting.Geology is so hard here, You will have to pass through the above mentioned in the USA to mention a few.

No shortcut to education here in Yankee. It's practical, through books, research and internship, which would equip you with valuable knowledge in your intended field. Your professors also thoroughly research your papers with a fine tooth comb to make sure it conforms to the standard guideline of what constitutes a research paper. If you are caught plagiarising, there could be academic consequences to pay. Overall, while the process might be tedious, in the long run, you are left with a feeling of accomplishment when you walk on the stage. In Nigeria, it's mostly theoretical and relying on handouts and textooks. I prefer yankees academia over Nigeria anytime, any day.

PeeBee:

is that so?

yup. MCQ

Well both sides have valid arguments but life is not easy anywhere!

I have not studied abroad so I cannot say but in Nigeria, lemme give you a break down of my school I graduated from the University of Port Harcourt.

1. There are certain departments where some myths abound and nothing no matter how much you read cannot change it, for instance there was an electrical course we did and the lecturer for the course always sets past questions infact he would use a pen to change the 7 and 8 at the end of 2007/2008 section to 2008/2009, but no body ever gets an A in the course no matter how much you write no matter how much you read.

2. There are lecturers in the department of electrical engineering that never ever give A's infact you can count the number they have given since they started to lecture, there is just one who is a role model and has the interest of students at heart he would stop on the road and spend hours explaining stuff to you - Professor Ibe, recently I heard from present students his final year class of about 150 something students had 40 A's the faculty rejected the result. In contrast the faculty accepted a result of 132 F's out of 170 in a civil course Basic strength of materials.

3. My class broke the record for the number of Second class upper's the department of Mechanical Engineering has ever produced in the school, the number was 17 out of 160, there was no first class in fact only 1 in the faculty of Engineering. Good as the result was only 40 of us graduated.



But I can relate with those that say it is harder, because in the Nigerian system there is no real learning and that is the truth no matter how much enthusiasm at first you slowly learn the pattern and give up just before the end, look for somebody's project to copy(I know so many who did) and the lecturers do not even know. But I am sure if given the chance so many people want to school abroad, there is no use comparing because education abroad is what it is supposed to be.


Oh before I forget I used to have clips of classes we had with one of our prof's we call I go die, it was laughing for the whole two hours of theories of elasticity class, hilarious. I will look for it.

My take:

The education is more INTENSE here than in naija. Standards are higher, no cunny cunny means to pass. No 419, bribing profs etc. Profs are usually very meticulous, they are usually champions in their field so you cant bs ur way through exams.
You do have the resources needed to excel sha - library, internet, journals, papers, labs etc etc, so the resources are there BUT ee no easy. no easy at all. The amt of work you have to do is intense. And no more cram cram like we did back in the day. I think thats is the worst part of education in Nigeria - cramming. Here is all about critical thinking and understand and being able to analyze, not just mere reproduction and regurgitation. And yes, I know naija isnt all about that.

But no cultism, some racism, and maybe some discrimination. But truth of the matter is - if you are smart and are bright and willing to work hard - you will definitely earn your grade. Eee no easy sha

Studying in abroad lol, mhen u dnt wana compare naija education to Philippines' own in term of stress, assignments, term papers, quizzes, exams,reports, field works, researches, and some unnecessary over night, JAKAD ya to si SATIN, U NO FIT PASS ALABA TO ALABAMA,

It is relative, depending on your course of study and the institution. Ask those that study Medicine and Surgery at College of Medicine, University of Ibadan both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Those years of training is hell my brothers and sisters.

A guy left the college for a master degree in Molecular biology abroad in prelude to residency training. His university abroad had to mail UI commending them for a job well done. The guy was reported to have scored 100% that has never happened in the history of the University. He was recommended for PhD with full scholarship thereafter. This case is just one out of many.

It depends on you, who trains you and whether you are trainable or not.

To study abroad is definitely very stressful but it's worth it. You come out thoroughly educated.

ziccoit:

It is relative, depending on your course of study and the institution. Ask those that study Medicine and Surgery at College of Medicine, University of Ibadan both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Those years of training is hell my brothers and sisters.

A guy left the college for a master degree in Molecular biology abroad in prelude to residency training. His university abroad had to mail UI commending them for a job well done. The guy was reported to have scored 100% that has never happened in the history of the University. He was recommended for PhD with full scholarship thereafter. This case is just one out of many.

It depends on you, who trains you and whether you are trainable or not.

University of Ibadan is synonymous with stress. Am doing a masters degree here and I'm not finding it funny at all at least compared to my former school. Studying abroad is easier cos you have all required facililties at your disposal. Am doing a science based course here and there are some practicals you have to read and cram to pass exams all because we dont have the power to run them. I download such videos from youtube and I see what my mates abroad are doing and wish I was there. Its much easier when you see something done and then have to talk about it unlike when you have to imagine something done, read the protocols, cram them and write theoreticals exams on supposed practicals.
Trust me its much more difficult when you are eager to learn and are limited in doing so

I don't know anything about UK educational systems but i can speak of the one in the United states. In the United states Colleges, getting a C requires you to get a %70 - %79 in your exams, B requires you to get %80 - %89 and A is %90 and above. And these are for Undergraduates. In most Texas Colleges, C is a failing grade in Graduate school. If you get %79 in the graduate school that i attended, you have not passed the course. And you are not allowed to repeat courses in graduate school, you have to work harder on the other courses to build up you GPA otherwise you are heading for a withdrawal. In Nigeria, if you get a %70, you are guaranteed an A grade. And what i found out is that most American kids, at least the ones i know found it easier making A grades in Nigeria Exams, e.g JAMB and WAEC. I know of 2 family friends that were taken to Nigeria by their parents because they were thugged out in America and not paying attention to their education. These boys and girls breezed through WAEC and JAMB, and i'm not talking about 250 etc. These kids were scoring in high 280s, all A grades in WAEC. Social political problems are the stresses Nigerian students face not their educational stress like it should be. I found out that most Nigerian Universities are glorified high schools, there are high schools in America with science Laboratory better than any of UI's or OAU's. My cousin graduated with Biochemistry from University of Ibadan, same course i got my Bachelors in, and i was dumbfounded to find that he could not identify the basics components of DNA, Cell Lysis and all the Amino Acids! Things that a Biochemist students should know by heart at sophomore or at Junior level at most! Another thing is that, Concept is not taught in Nigeria. They only teach you to pass an Exam. A good education should teach you the applications of what is taught in the classrooms. The entire African educational systems needs some serious overhaul. As a science student in United states, there is a level of expectation that you have to meet. If you are Graduate student, your graduation is emphasized on how many research you have performed and not how many exam you have passed. I wouldn't have graduated with a BSC degree in Biochemistry without a successful completion and conducting at least 2 or 3 DNA experiment and Analysis, Graduate School was even worse.

I might be wrong but in my opinion, NOBODY goes abroad thinking it would be easier rather it's the benefits that they look forward to. You can NOT compare western education with what we have down here. What we have down here are nothing but glorified secondary schools. Our tertiary institutions are plagued with strikes,inadequate facilities,poor funding,poor infrastructure,cultism,Hot corrupt lecturers/professors who insist on extorting money or going to bed with the ladies before letting them pass exams and so many other ills.

I remember when i went for IT in 2002 (i studied in ESUT). I was a complete green horn where i was serving. Ordinary Microsoft word, i no sabi. All i knew was Q-Basic programming and Fortran 77 programming language. I had to start spending my weekends with a couple of guys in computer village to learn a thing about coupling computers,fixing printers and all that. After several years in the university, there was nothing i learnt that could impact on the society. 5 years studying computer engineering and all the practical knowledge i use today was gained OUTSIDE the university. Imagine that.

End of!

Arguments here say it is easier abroad because the facilities and educational resources are at ones disposal but this is the way i see and liken the two scenarios

Nigeria: u are given a spoon and asked to dig a 5 feet deep trench

Overseas: u are equipped with a spoon, a shovel, hoes, spades etc and u are required to dig a 100 feet trench by hand.

While studying overseas, u are equiped with all the resources u might likely need but the task is hundred times more than what u are expected to accomplish if u study in Nigeria. I have being through both systems and I know exactly what I'm saying.

Finally, to an extent, it all depends on ur school and ur course.

obailala:

Arguments here say it is easier abroad because the facilities and educational resources are at ones disposal but this is the way i see and liken the two scenarios

Nigeria: u are given a spoon and asked to dig a 5 feet deep trench

Overseas: u are equipped with a spoon, a shovel, hoes, spades etc and u are required to dig a 100 feet trench by hand.

While studying overseas, u are equiped with all the resources u might likely need but the task is hundred times more than what u are expected to accomplish if u study in Nigeria. I have being through both systems and I know exactly what I'm saying.

Finally, to an extent, it all depends on your school and your course.

. . .and that is why those who study abroad are more relevant in their profession than those who studied in Nigeria. That is also why someone who studied engineering abroad negotiates terms of salary payment in Nigerian ranging from a few hundred thousand to millions while someone who studied the same course in Nigeria is paid peanuts. There are mechanical engineers coming out of Nigerian universities that can take a bicycle apart not to talk of putting it back together. There are electrical engineers that can tell the difference between a 5mm wire and an 8mm wire not to talk of wiring a building. There are computer engineers that can't install Microsoft windows not to talk of oracle and windows server applications.

If students are being drilled there, at least they come out better and not like our half baked graduates who have no idea of what they are doing. We have so many mechanical engineers and yet, we are yet to design an automobile that will make the world say "Wow" (forget all those crap metal put-togethers. . .lol).

Studying in Naija: Under resourced, over influenced by external environment, let my people go attitude.
Studying abroad: Over resourced, over influenced by in-class environment, you are on your own attitude.
Difference: Most good Naija students can survive studying abroad, while most students abroad cannot survive in Naija.

aha!

obailala:

Arguments here say it is easier abroad because the facilities and educational resources are at ones disposal but this is the way i see and liken the two scenarios

Nigeria: u are given a spoon and asked to dig a 5 feet deep trench

Overseas: u are equipped with a spoon, a shovel, hoes, spades etc and u are required to dig a 100 feet trench by hand.

While studying overseas, u are equiped with all the resources u might likely need but the task is hundred times more than what u are expected to accomplish if u study in Nigeria. I have being through both systems and I know exactly what I'm saying.

Finally, to an extent, it all depends on your school and your course.

harakiri, lol common word process eh, very funny but true.

analysis this and that, analyse just anything and applications. very lacking in nigeria colleges.
the nig instructors are just too lax or lazy. maybe they don't have to tools to work with.

I found it easier to study abroad of course.

1. You only need your brains not your arzzzzzzzzzz!!!
2. You can get school loans and attend any school of your wish if you can afford it.
3. The facilities and resources are always available.
4. You don't need the distractions of uncertainty from useless instructors and unscrupulous academic personnel.

oh yeah school loans na gbese forever

I seriously pity those that believe tha the educational system in 9ja can compete internationally. Don't get me wrong please. I love my 9ja as much as you do.
We have come to accept our fate an learned to rejoice in it. If only some of us can have a peek into how much other developed countries have left us behind in terms of education.
In the US for example, you study. I don't mean passing exams. I mean you really really go to school. To get an A, u need to have 90%. It comprises of everything from your papers, test, assignments, presentations, class works, etc.
Another difference is in the tools used for teaching. In my school, There is hardly any class above 30 students. We have access to our own computers and lab tools. You also graduate not just with a degree but also with certifications.
Look also at the study environment. You have a fantastic library, a writing center with dedicated staff that helps you to weed out all your grammatical error as an international student. You also have Supplemental Instructors that assist you to go through your coursework in case you have any problems.
All these things and many others put together makes you a well trained EMPLOYABLE GRADUATE.

The main problem we face in 9ja is not that the students are dull or unwilling to learn. It is the environment we find ourselves where our leaders do not have any regard for good education. This is what makes most of our graduates who cannot afford extra curricular education or personal training to become un-employable.

This is the reason most of us left 9ja to study abroad. I TELL YOU MY GUY, I AM NOT REGRETTING IT!!!

For those that are still in Nigeria, they think studying abroad is easy. To say d truth it is never easy. what I'm facing right now is dam hell. Only God can save me. Alot of assignment to submit, test is  another thing. alwaz busy 24/7. Just because all d facilities are available, u av no excuss, u just av 2 face it like a real man,

hello 2good , please i need to speak with u urgently

obailala:

Nigeria: u are given a spoon and asked to dig a 5 feet deep trench. [u fit hire laborer to dig am for you sef ]

Overseas: u are equipped with a spoon, a shovel, hoes, spades etc and u are required to dig a 100 feet trench by hand. [you go dig am alone, and expected to go far and beyond the requirement]

While studying overseas, u are equiped with all the resources u might likely need but the task is hundred times more than what u are expected to accomplish if u study in Nigeria. I have being through both systems and I know exactly what I'm saying.

Finally, to an extent, it all depends on your school and your course.

GBAM! with small modification

Fact of the matter is, if we are talking about quality of education, especially at the tertiary level and beyond, 9ja should not be mentioned in the same paragraph or even the same page as the first world western countries. Guys let's be frank, the difference in the quality of education is, for all practical purposes, like the difference between heaven and earth; particularly when it comes to science and tech based courses. Our science based courses here are a joke in all honesty. All we do is pass exams, education in these disciplines has essentially missed its purpose in 9ja. Afterall, graduates just get employed in banks and other FIs, a few O&G companies, and telecoms - that is the aspiration of many undergrads, forget about acquisition of knowledge for application in real life, that one is story.

I think when people state that studying abroad is easier, they are 'silently' referring to the subconscious inner conflict the average nigerian student continually experiences throughout his studying years, at least until he becomes fully disillusioned with the system. My point is, what appears stressful is analogous to the difference between playing football for 30 mins and walking to your boring job for 10 mins. Even though playing ball for 30 mins actually expends far more energy, you'll agree that you simply don't feel 'stressed' compared to a 10 minute walk to a job you detest that really isn't so physically tasking. I think stress (in this context) mainly originates from the inside; it is the state of mind of the nigerian student that is stressed out, not actually the volume of work because, detail for detail, we simply cannot compare with the sheer volume and quality of work obtainable in academia abroad.

Imagine engineering students that have absolutely no idea of the physical appearance of several machines which they routinely solve examination problems on; when you dont fully understand the solution to a problem, then just master the pattern of steps to solving it, because even the lecturer doesn't understand it too, and he doesn't even care. But a guy has to pass his exams and graduate with good grades, fully grasping the subject matter is immaterial, its not like you are going to apply it to your 'office' job anyway. Continous exposure to this kind of schooling has a wearying effect on the students, because it simply conflicts with a human being's in-born urge and desire to truly understand phenomena and apply the knowledge to his real life.

So in short, the students are perpetually stressed and frustrated, and they now declare that studying abroad is easier.

It isn't easier, it's only REAL study, not this facade that we call study here in 9ja.

If you have the opportunity, don't hesitate to grab the chance to study abroad with both hands (and both feet too), you absolutely will be better off a thousand times over.

I can't shout

Though I do not have any experience studying abroad, studying in Nigeria (in the Federal University I attended) wasn't beans. First of all, we were like 150 in my department and many times, I had to listen to lectures through the windows of the class. Politicking was the other of the day. There were classmates that never showed up in class but always came tops. Know why? Money had changed hands. So, no matter how good you were, lecturers expected you to pay a *royalty* for taking their course and if you didn't, you were seen as a traitor. There were exceptions though and most of them were those exposed to western education.

In addition to that, there were no facilities. I did a final year project in bio-remediation and there were days I felt like the world was going to crash on me. I had a difficult supervisor that changed my project topic like ten times (depending on her mood and current interest) and made me prepare a paper before I could be given an A. Of course, you would guess who the principal author of the paper is!

There were assignments everyday, term papers to submit and lectures to attend (yeah, 75% attendance was required for all courses). And no matter how smart and intelligent you were, you'll be waiting your time presenting a stellar work without your *royalty* payment. Of course, there were guys that made a first class but everyone knew why they did.

In summary, my experience was hell because of the lack of adequate facilities, corruption on the part of the lecturers, absurd work load, and many other factors. The painful part is that no matter how much effort you put in, it may never pay off except you *dance to the music being played*. Worst of all was that if one lecturer was offended with you, you had to kiss goodbye to good grades that semester except you "appeased the gods". I know that no matter the work load one has to carry in a foreign institution, fair-play, hard-work and diligence would pay off in the long run.

Forgive my typos,

You may have more work or assignments than your counterparts here but you are better equipped to handle them. At the end of the day you come out more exposed to modern ways of doing things. you guys are just way ahead

Finally some one understands I have been weeping for the past few days because the marks I am getting is not what I want even though I didn't fail. I put a lot of time and effort in to assignments and one lecturer is making my life hell in terms of writing reports. I'm studying a medical degree and tbh it is not easy at all,

Imagine a situation where pass mark is 60% which is a B in a Nigerian university and the 60% is harder to get than in Nigerian university.
All through out my undergraduate days in Nigeria, you are given maybe 4 questions to answer 3 or 6 questions to answer 4 in exams, but here it is always 10 to answer 10, 5 to answer 5, etc. I have never written any exam where I was given the option to choose and the worst thing is that in your transcript, the 60% is a D. 70% is a C.
Truth is that you have all the resources to work with but you will search for the result yourself. Nobody will tell you how to do it. No dubbing of assignment, deadlines are strict, you have to work like a robot to cope.

Education is harder in Naija than it is in Yankee. The only difference between the two is that you are held to a higher standard in yankee, but there are resources to aid you excel in your coursework and your discipline. Plus you have guest lectures, caring advisors all at the beck of your hand. Definitely cant compare university education abroad with Naija. Naija universities, some of them, are glorified high schools. It was tough finding books and journals for my assignments. During assignment, we would troop to the library and see how over one hundred students would be relying on just one book to see them through. At times, some wicked students would quickly go to the library and conceal the book in another corner, to deprive other students the chances to finish their homework on time. Once, my friend and I trekked to Udottung Ubo library in Uyo to do our assignment, because they werent available books in the library.

I prefer yankee's education over Naija's education anytime, anyday, particularly, college level. I was ignorant of the differences when I moved out here, and wondered why people would pay through the nose to educate their wards here, instead of just sending them over to Naija, and pay a fraction for their school fees. Eventually, I changed my mind. Please, there is no comparison: Education here in yankee is intense, but there are materials to see you through, in naija, it's harder, because of lack of materials. So, in the long run, you graduate with no firm grasp on what you studied in college.