Limited spaces force Nigerians to seek tertiary education in Ghana

From Olanrewaju Lawal,Ilorin

The Vice-Chancellor of University of Ilorin, Professor Abdul Ganiyu Ambali, said limited space in Nigeria tertiary institutions compel many Nigerians to seek for admission in some Africa countries, especially Ghana.

The Vice-Chancellor who stated this while speaking with Journalists in a media chat said the migration of many Nigerians to Ghana, Ivory Coast and other West Africa countries was to obtain degree after they have failed to secure admission in Nigeria.

“I think it depends on what you are examining, because when you talk of Nigerian educational system, there are serious shortcomings. A critical look at the academic content of the Nigerian educational curriculum shows that it is not below standard. Then the government also directs us that every five years, curriculum should be reviewed to keep everybody in tune with the best international standard practices.

“There are other quality assurance commodities you can use to gauge the standard of education. These include staff-student ratio, quality of staff, capacity of classrooms, the quality of the accessories within the classrooms and research output. When you compare all these with other universities outside the country, one will be in a better place to judge the level of infrastructural decay.

“I have been to Ghana and seen what they have. Others have been there and they have also compared what they saw there with ours. While agreeing that there is room for improvement, I don’t think Nigeria is worse off than they are.

“I have been telling people that if you see our people going to Ghana, Ivory Coast or anywhere within reach, it is not because they are seeking for quality education, but merely seeking for tertiary education. This is because we cannot absorb more than one third of the applicants.