Nigerians among 300, 000 beneficiaries of tuition-free education in Germany

Over 300,000 foreign students, some of which are Nigerians are benefitting from the tution-free education offered by the German government.

German Consul-General in Lagos, Mr. Ingo Herbert, who made the disclosure, said every serious government that is desirous of raising an educated citizenry must ensure qualitative education, since education remains a potent weapon in the empowerment of any individual.

He said it was in realisation of this fact that the German government in 2014 decided to make education free for all citizens and foreign students.

Speaking during a summit organised by educational consultancy firm, SJJ Education, in Lagos, Herbert said, “In October 2014, the German government took the step to completely scrap tuition fees at all public universities, which allowed international students to study free. With this arrangement, we had in that 2014 about 2.7 million university students studying free, with about 300,000 of them being foreigners. It is a political decision that education at all levels should be free for all, free for every one, irrespective of nationality.”

At the summit, which had as its theme, “German Education for Nigerians,” the envoy explained that teaching and learning in Germany were practical-oriented and companies fund universities to conduct research that would meet their industrial needs.

“In general, higher education in Germany is based on several segments. We have classic universities, technical universities and universities in applied sciences. Technical universities are well famous in vocation, engineering and technology. Now 25 per cent of students in technical universities are actually foreigners. On the other hand, universities in applied sciences work closely with what the companies need. It is less theoretical, more applied and more practical. And their research are funded by companies that have special research interest,” he expressed.

Chairman of the consultancy firm, Mr. Saturday Jackson said the essence of the seminar was to sensitise parents, students, government and corporate organisations on numerous opportunities and benefits inherent in the German education system.

He said greater opportunities now abound in German varsities for international students, including Nigerians to earn degrees and higher degrees without paying tuition. International students he said can also benefit from study grants, financial aids and student loans.

“As Germany opens up to international students, many of her institutions now offer courses and programmes entirely in English language. This means Nigerian students can take up bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Ph.Ds as well as research fellowships without a prior study of the German language. Student can study the language along with their courses,” Jackson stated.