Senate education committee says Nigerians spend $2bn educating their children abroad

NIGERIANS spend and annual total of $2bn educating their children abroad according to statistics just released by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institution and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Tetfund).

 

Speaking yesterday during the official commissioning of the Nigeria Research and Education Network (Ngren) at the Federal University of Lafia, Senator Binta Masi, the chairman of the senate's Tefund committee, frowned at this habit of Nigerians travelling to other African countries to get educated. She added that Nigeria was getting it right on the initiative of the research and education network, so should be able to educate its youths at home.

 

According to Senator Masi, the Nigeria Ngren initiative would soon be further exposed to the members of the National Assembly to fully engage all stakeholders and ensure adequate funding and support. She added that the National Assembly would continue to support more initiatives on rescuing and reviving the glory of the Nigeria education sector.

 

Ngren, coordinator, Dr Joshua Attah, said the network helped in cutting cost as its present connection fee was $59 per megabyte. He added: “It helps to avoid unnecessary travels and also help cut cost of capacity building as teaching can be delivered to several people.”

 

Formally commissioned on July 8, 2014, Ngren was initially providing services to 27 federal universities. Nigerian Universities Commission executive secretary Professor Julius Okojie, said the Ngren network is the first to become operational in West Africa and its broadband capability is next to that of MTN.

 

He stressed the need to do more sensitisation on the advantages of connecting to Ngren. Countries where Nigerian students mainly travel to for education include Ghana, the UK, the US, Canada, South Africa and India.