The Indian High Commission to Nigeria has revealed that no fewer than Nigerians are departing the shores of the country between mid-July and early August for university education in India.
The high commission further revealed that the scholarships
are fully sponsored by the Government of India.
Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Shri Balasubramanian
revealed this at an orientation programme for the 20 beneficiaries, asking them
to be good ambassadors of Nigeria to India by being well mannered and facing
their studies.
The beneficiaries are mostly going in for MBA, B.Sc or M.Sc
(Zoology, Chemistry, Physics, Geology, Space Science, etc.), Ph.D., Pharmacy,
Engineering, Economics, Agriculture, IT, Cyber Security, among other.
The Indian government has yearly since 1958 been sponsoring
Nigerians to study at various Indian university under the Indian Council
Cultural Relations (ICCR) Scholarship Programme which has seen several
thousands of student worldwide and over a thousand Nigerians benefiting from
the scheme.
At the orientation programme, the high commissioner equally
advised them to make sure they return back to Nigeria and involve in their
homeland socio-economic growth.
He said: “India is counting on them to be promoters of
Indo-Nigerian relationship as they are going to be accustomed to the two
cultures, which noting that both Nigeria and India are multicultural and share
many things in common.
“India is well known as an education hub attracting
international students from all over the world. India’s robust education
system, in the backdrop of its rich diversity and vibrant culture and history,
affords a broad range of options for students.
“As a rapidly growing country with a leading technological
edge, studying in India has much to offer, whether it is Engineering,
Computers, Arts, Philosophy, Political Sciences or Classics etc.
“Indian Council for Cultural Relations administers various
scholarship programs annually and awards about 3000+ scholarships under 21
different schemes to foreign students from about 180 countries.
“Amongst these 21 schemes, six are funded by ICCR from its
grant and others are administered on behalf of MEA and Ministry of Ayush. The
courses offered for studies are for Under-graduation, Post-graduation and Ph.D.
levels.
“Each academic year, ICCR has about 6000+ of its foreign
scholars who are studying at various Central/State Universities, Institutes,
NITs, and Agricultural Institutions etc.”