Carnegie Africa has released a shocking report on the hierarchy of global destinations in African students’ preferences. It is shocking in the sense that France, not the United Kingdom or the USA is at the top of the ladder, with 126,000 African students. And China comes next with 81,500 students, leaving the U.S. on the third slot with approximately 48,000 African students.
Intervention has not read the entire report beyond the cover letter on it by Dr Zainab Usman, the Director of Carnegie Africa Program as to know if this has been the trend or when it started.
But according to her summary, the other countries among the top 20 global destinations preferred by African students are Germany, United Kingdom, UAE, Canada, Türkiye and Ukraine, (the same Ukraine which is at war). The Report noted what it calls “a growing trend of intra-Africa student mobility for higher education, countries such as South Africa, Morocco, Senegal, and Ghana have emerged as the new hot zones for many African students” but also indicated how emerging economies and middle powers such as Turkiye, the United Arab Emirate and Malaysia are emerging as a zone of preference for African students beyond former colonial powers such as Belgium, Portugal or the United Kingdom.
The Report titled What are the Top Global Destination for Higher Education for African Students? has been prompted by the recent judicial deleting of affirmative action in American universities, Said Dr Usman.
It is bound to be an interesting report across Nigeria, given the muted fear over the number of Nigerians leaving the country, many if not most of them students. While no one frowns at Nigerians going out and mixing with the world, particularly if they are students seeking specific supervisors or academic programs, the unsaid reason is the vote of No confidence on the national university system, partly because of prolonged industrial action.
