Adamu Adamu, the Minister of Education, has said that it is not wrong if Nigerian students seek university education in other African nations and elsewhere.
Adamu made this statement while being interviewed on Channels TV on Wednesday, September 7th about the ministry’s plans to prevent students from leaving Nigerian institutions and opting for foreign universities.
According to reports, about 75, 000 Nigerians are currenly running undergraduate courses in Ghana, Benin Republic and Egypt. But in reaction to the statistics, the minister, said it is not a new development.
“It is not a bad reputation in the sense that people going out to study is not a bad thing. The only thing you have to say is that our universities should try to attract students so that instead of money going out, money will come in,” he said.
He also dismissed claims that Nigeria’s educational system is the reason parents are sending their children to study in other African universities, saying the internationalisation of schools means people can study anywhere.
“So, going out to study can never be a problem to anybody,” he opined.
SPeking on the persistent strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, the minister said the Federal Government has made an offer to the university teachers.
He disclosed that government proposed a one-time package for the striking lecturers, which he said would not be paid in installments.
“The agreement we reached or the position that I offered of government that I offered to is something government can pay if they say they will agree,” the education minister added.
