The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Ghana Chapter, is appealing to the management of various tertiary institutions across the country to provide a grace period for the payment of fees by its members.
In a media interview, NANS President Sam Edem highlighted the instability in the exchange rate between the cedi and naira, which has led to continuous increases in school fees.
Mr. Edem acknowledged that the Nigerian government is taking measures to address the issue with the naira, and urged tertiary institutions in Ghana to consider their plea.
“So, while I am putting out word to our government back home, we would appreciate it if a lot more is done about this issue. And we appeal to our institutions here to give the Nigerian students that allowance for the period to ensure that they are able to meet their obligations with regard to fees.”
During a public lecture in 2022, Lamido Sanusi, former governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank, revealed that over 70,000 Nigerians were studying in Ghana.
“Although there are no comprehensive data on the number of Nigerian students abroad, recent data have shown that there are about 71,000 Nigerian students in Ghana paying about US$1 billion annually as tuition fees and upkeep, as against the annual budget of US$751 million for all federal universities.”
“In other words, the money spent by Nigerian students studying in Ghana with a better-organised system is more than the annual budget of all federal universities in the country,” Sanusi said.
“Nigeria is today placed third on the list of countries with the highest number of students studying overseas,” he added.
