Nigerian students have been advised to avail themselves of the opportunity of enjoying tuition-free study abroad through various scholarship schemes.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Tuesday on the sideline of eight years anniversary of an education consultancy firm, Into Migration, Ilorin; a body set up to guide, counsel and assist admission seekers into higher institutions of learning, the general manager, Joel Adesokan, said that many free scholarship schemes are wasted every year because people are either unaware of the programmes or fall into wrong hands of individuals.

Dr Adesokan, who said that such scholarship opportunities in the US alone can take care of 50% of Nigerian youth, added that people should be involved in the processing of such programmes in order not to fall into the hands of scammers through laziness.

The education consultant, who raised the alarm that over 80 per cent of parents who wanted their children to study abroad lamented they had been scammed, said that there is an uncontrolled number of education consultants in the industry.

He also expressed the need for government to regulate it so that unsuspecting members of the public do not fall into wrong hands.

The education stakeholder also raised the alarm over the brain drain in the country, calling on the federal government to arrest the situation for better development of the country.

Adesokan said it is appropriate to export values and products but, expressed his reservations with the manner Nigerians are leaving the country in droves with no benefit to the nation.

According to him, “There is no crime in exporting our values. There’s no crime in exporting our products, but there’s a crime in exporting ourselves”.

He asked the government to further attract young minds with innovation, create a conducive atmosphere and give them a sense of belonging to encourage them to stay and add value to Nigeria.

He also advised the FG to review the nation’s education curriculum to make it problem-solving, saying that academic curriculum needs to be tailored towards addressing the societal challenges bedevilling the nation.

“Nigeria is not at par with foreign schools. Our curriculum should be tailored to solve societal problems. It should have a direct impact on solving problems. There are water engineers in the country, for example, but water problems persist in the country. The essence of education is to solve problems. That’s what education is all about,” he said.

“If anybody tells us that our education specifically at the tertiary level is above par, it is a lie from the pit of hell.

“Issues that bother us around corporate governance are our worst enemy. Until we begin to have our curricula, and our services as an institution centred towards solving societal problems, we still remain a failure.

“You can’t have professors and academic experts in a particular field or sector and it does not have a direct impact on that sector. It’s a waste.” (Nigerian Tribune)

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