The number of people trooping out of Nigeria to school abroad is alarming. Reports from the Central Bank of Nigeria show that Nigerians spent $1.38 billion in international education expenses between January to September of 2022. It seems every family has one person studying abroad. Some go as far as selling family assets so they can also participate in conversations about a child schooling abroad.
Well, studying abroad is great, no doubt. You get to learn new things, experience a different culture, as well as get quality knowledge in your course of study. Here are some advantages of schooling abroad.
You Don’t Have to Deal with Strikes
For folks in public universities, this is the first thing that comes to mind. Asuu strikes have dealt with Nigerian students for as long as we can remember. Strikes last for months, delaying students’ progress. Abroad there are no strikes. You conclude your programme as at when due.
A good challenge
It is good to challenge yourself. Leave home, your family, and everything you have ever known. Travel to a completely new place and see what life brings. As an international student, you get the chance to become immersed in a totally different environment. This enriching experience will enable you to see and do things you wouldn’t expect and meet people who have grown up in a different culture. For instance, while living abroad you’ll be able to try new foods, hear traditional music, probably learn a new language, and have a go at local activities and explore everything else your host country has to offer.
You get to learn a new language
If you go to study in some countries, you might need to learn a new language first. In such countries, you spend your first year getting to learn the local language of instruction. Learning a new language has a lot of advantages. It opens up the opportunity for being part of a community with a different culture and learning more about the world around us. It can help your career; open up more job opportunities, and improve your memory and brain functions.
You get a wider scope of the world
Studying abroad forces you to interact with people who are different from you, who practice different customs and approach the world differently, on a daily basis. This includes people in your own program. Often, study abroad programs mix students from all different countries together in one program, so you’ll get to meet and befriend people from all over the world every day.
You’ll gain more confidence
It is not easy to go to a different country, acclimatize, and survive all the hurdles that come your way. If you traveled as a boy, you’ll definitely return as a man. The process of figuring out how to live abroad is one filled with self-discovery. That process helps you realize just how capable you are. This is why so many students feel like completely new person when upon coming home from a study abroad trip. The experience sets you up with an unshakable sense of confidence and a new perspective on the world. This also translates to great leadership skills, which is likely part of why employers value studying abroad on a resume.
In spite of all the advantages, when you consider some factors you may decide to think twice about studying abroad:
Abandonment of Quality Local Education
Not every local school is bad, just the way not every foreign school is good. We have good schools at home. Schooling abroad is not exactly the flex we make it out to be. We have good teachers, good schools, and good facilities, that will give you the exact quality of education that schools abroad give you.
Ridiculous Fees
The amount of money you get to spend studying abroad is outrageous. From your study application, visa fees, tuition, cost of accommodation, travel, and feeding, amount to millions of naira. Even though you’re on a scholarship, you’ll still need to spend money. if you really think about the amount of money you get to spend, you could start up a business at home and not need to go anywhere. The ridiculous fees also let you know that so many people cannot afford the study abroad experience.
Moral Decadence
Believe it or not, Nigerians are mostly decent, well-behaved people. Most of the immoral activities we openly do today, we learnt from the Western world. Schooling abroad exposes you to this lifestyle first-hand. This foreign lifestyle is now slowly being accepted at home. We go to get an education and come back with the baggage of knowledge that isn’t good for us.
Dissipation of African Culture
Our culture is our heritage. As we go abroad and imbibe foreign languages and cultures, ours slowly dies. We lose touch with our tradition, our children mostly won’t speak the language, and won’t have much knowledge about where we come from. So, what is happening is the slow death of our tradition and a replacement with foreignness. It happens so aptly that we do not notice it. One day we will wake up to a foreign Africa.
Studying abroad is not bad if you can afford it. However, it also comes with its disadvantages. It is left for a person to weigh the pros and cons and decide if it’s something they want to do.
