Studying in Ukraine, has in recent times, been a topic of
debate considering the alleged racial discrimination being experienced by
Nigerian students and the problem of communicating in English Language. As
English is not the official language spoken in Ukraine, Nigerian students often
have difficulties in communicating when they travel there for their studies.
To buttress this, the Nigerian Ambassador to Ukraine, Frank
Ngozi Isoh, has advised Nigerian parents to be wary of sending their
children to English Language training institutions as Ukrainians are not
proficient in the language.
In September, the National Universities Commission (NUC) had
said some states sponsor students to sub-standard universities abroad and
Ukraine was one of the countries mentioned. The Executive Secretary
of NUC Professor Julius Okojie also made reference to a
university in Ukraine where there are over 800 medical students and some of the
students do not have the qualification in basic sciences.
In a recent report by Daily Trust, the Ambassador made some startling revelations
that raises some doubts about the idea of studying in Ukraine.
The Ambassador said that Nigerians won’t get the best when
it comes to studying in Ukraine with the English Language. “One thing I
will like to say about education in this place, and this is something we intend
to package in a report to government to see how this can be propagated back
home – I do not think that Nigerians get the best when it comes to studying in
this place in the English language.”
While noting that the lure for most parents is the low
cost of tuition which is about $3,000 for a course that could cost up to
$20,000 in the United States or Canada, the Ambassador further said that
the people who teach them in English language are natives of Ukraine who
are also not very proficient in the language.
He advised students who want to study in Ukraine to first
learn the local language in order to get the best out of the education system.
While speaking on Universities in Ukraine offering medical courses, he said he
doesn’t think Nigerian medical students trained in English get the best. “We
don’t think that Nigerian medical doctors trained in English speaking
universities here get the best. But those who endeavour to learn the
language and then attend lectures with the natives certainly get better
trained.”
It was only weeks ago that news of a Nigerian student
studying in Ukraine who faced life imprisonment for allegedly defending
himself against six teenagers surfaced in the media {click here to read it}. What was noteworthy about his case
is that he was remanded in detention for several days by the Ukrainian police
who refused to take the case to court citing unavailability of the police to
get an interpreter for him.
If you were planning on studying in Ukraine, it might be
wise to listen to the advice of the Ambassador.
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