By Olukayode Idowu, in Abuja
Ghana universities have continued to come over to Nigeria for students with various incentives which include payment in Naira, Cedi and even at discount and well spaced out payment arrangement for tuition.
In the last one month, three universities have established admission centres at the Ghana High Commission headquarters in Abuja and the Consular Office in Lagos to poach for Nigerian students.
Ghanaian universities that have so far this year taken advantage of the large population of Nigeria to seek students include University of Ghana, Accra, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi and lately All Nations University, Koforidua, Eastern Region.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja at the weekend during the search for Nigerian students into the institution, the Deputy Registrar (University Recruitment), All Nations University, Eric Okai noted that the ivory tower have had more Nigerians passing through it than Ghanaians, noting that Nigerians have smart nationals and many who have graduated from the school were top of the class.
Okai, while noting that the school majors in engineering, said: ‘Nigerian students have played a major role in our position as a dominant university in engineering. The university has come to help Africa in our approach to education. We equip our student with quality education centered on ethics and respect for the society. Most of our alumni in petrochemical engineering are from Nigeria and also in oil and gas engineering.’
While revealing that the institution that was established by Prof. Samuel Donkor 21 years ago, have graduated over 3,000 Nigerians, said there are friendly tuition fee paying plan for Nigerians to keep the stream on.
He said: ‘Previously we were paying in dollars, we noticed that we are in West Africa and you know how the dollars is not friendly to us. The rate system, if you come to Ghana, the rate is high, if you come to Nigeria, the rate is high. So we considered that we should make the fees Naira friendly, so in that case we have pecked our fees in Cedi. It is not like the dollars equivalent but Cedi that is closer to what the local students pay.
‘You pay in Cedi, so you can just convert Naira to Cedi to pay your fees. You can play in Naira here and reflect it in Cedi. It is friendly to Nigerian parents since they won’t need to convert Naira into dollars to pay the school fees of their children.
‘The Vice Chancellor as further given a 50% discount for every Nigerian student that come to our campus. And this does not just cover a semester but the entire duration of the course. From the first year to graduation. It is a Naira friendly tuition fee. Nigerians have been more in the school than Ghanaians. We have graduated over 3000 Nigerian students. Nigerian students have shown to be smart and they have always come out in flying colours.’
The All Nations University was founded by Rev. Prof. Samuel H. Donkor and Dr. Rose Donkor and is located in Ghana, Eastern Region-Koforidua. The University began its operation in 2002 and has over the years nurtured and trained great minds in the country Ghana and beyond. Several international students especially from Nigeria have also successfully graduated from their studies at the institution. All Nations University, the only University in Sub-Saharan Africa to Design, Build and Successfully Launch a Satellite into space, putting Africa in a global competition of Space Sciences. All Nations University is accredited by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission – Ministry of Education Ghana. It is spearheading space science and satellite technology, Advanced Engineering, Business, and Leadership. The University has recently received accreditation for the study of Bachelor of Science (BSc.) in Emergency Medicine Technology to train qualified paramedics to support the healthcare sector in Africa.