At least 10,000 Nigerian students have been admitted to Australian universities between 2015 and 2019, according to Matthew Mechan, Deputy High Commissioner, Australia, Australian High Commission.
He claims that prior to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, everything went smoothly.This was Mechan’s Saturday statement at the nation’s ongoing education fair held in Lagos.
The purpose of the two-day event, which began with a gala night on Friday, was to honour and enhance the educational ties between Nigeria and Australia.It was also intended to inform Nigerian students about the prospects available in Australia’s postsecondary education system.
The research fair was delayed by the pandemic, the deputy head of mission told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), adding that it was the first one since 2019 in the post-COVID 19 period.
According to Mechan, the purpose of the study fair was to renew efforts to close the gap left by the epidemic and strengthen ties with Nigeria by taking a holistic approach.
He continued by saying that a number of accomplished Australian graduates had returned to Nigeria and were having a beneficial influence on the development of numerous industries.
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“I recall in 2015, that year we only had 400 people, but after our first fair, we added 1,000 new students. So, we got up to 1,400 students in a space of one year.“And that slowly grew over time with a couple of hundreds each year.
“So, I guess if you pull all those numbers together, I will think probably since 2015 we will be getting not less than 10,000 Nigerians who have had the chance to study in Australia,” he said.
He mentioned that Australia aimed to raise the growth index so that more Nigerian students could come study in the country’s adventurous and relaxed educational setting. It would be fantastic if we could resume enrolling a few hundred additional students annually. We are aware that what we have to offer sets us apart from other nations,” he remarked.