Nigerians more Serious than New Zealanders

Recently arrived from Nigeria, where for ten years he was with the University College, Ibadan, Brosnahan talked of educational progress in Nigeria.

There is no free education at any stage, but at university level scholarships help the majority of students.

At 15-year-old Uci, Nigeria's largest university with upwards of 1750 students, two-thirds of the student body is supported by scholarships. The "bond" system, comparable to New Zealand's post primary teachers' studentships, but not applying solely to teachers, is increasingly popular.

About 95 per cent of the students are native Nigerians, the rest from the Cameroons or overseas exchange students. New Zealand offers limited numbers of scholarships for Nigerian students wishing to study here. A fairly recent innovation has been the training course run at Uci for members of the American Peace Corps.

Several hundred Americans have now passed through the university and are working as teachers in schools throughout the country, said Brosnahan.

The first generation of graduates from Uci are now returning as staff members. Approximately 40 per cent of its staff are Nigerians.

A rapidly developing country, Nigeria is building more technical and administrative schools. The Engineering Department of Uci has just become part of a separate university, and schools of Veterinary Science and Law are planned. Already in existence are faculties of Science, Medicine. Agriculture. Economics and Social Studies,

The emphasis, however, lies in the Arts. The Nigerians have a strong feeling for poetry, and helped along by an education which remains predominantly classical, many arrive at Uci "with their scrapbooks full of published clippings." says Brosnahan. Despite this, the Students' Union does not run its own newspaper, but issues frequent reviews. The tendency is for each club to publish its own journal.