No fewer than 200 postgraduate scholarships have been awarded to young Nigerian students from the European Union (EU), to study in the best European universities, under the Erasmus+ programme.
Erasmus Plus scholarship is an initiative of the European Union, aimed at enhancing quality higher education through scholarships and academic cooperation between the Union and the rest of the world.
At an event organised to sendforth the students in Abuja on Wednesday, the delegation of the EU to Nigeria said there was an increasing number of Nigerian students who received scholarships, compared to the last years.
EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Samuela Isopi, said Nigeria was ranked second, immediately after Pakistan among the countries benefiting from the programme.
Isopi said in the last four years, there had been a quadrupling in terms of the number of Nigerians selected for Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters Scholarships, with the number increasing in 2019 from 44 winners to 93 in 2020, 133 in 2021, and a record number of over 200 were awarded this year.
She said during their stay for the period, they will have the opportunity to visit up to six countries across Europe, saying that the potential of Nigeria is very high in the scholarship.
“The programme is aimed at connecting and uniting people, young people across Europe and across the globe. To build a new generation of words citizens, keen to work together for peace, for prosperity and for the common good. So this year to celebrate these achievements, but also to further boost our cooperation with Nigeria.
“On education, we have decided to combine the traditional pre-departure orientation event with a study in Europe fair. We expect to receive today more than 2000 visitors today in just the first time we organized this fair in a few months, we promise we can meet to make it bigger next year,” she said.
The Deputy Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Mr. Chris Maiyaki, said the event was a groundbreaking achievement, and indeed a proud moment for Nigeria as the second country with the most out in a single year.
He commended the European Union for its tremendous support and contributions in generating, disseminating and expanding the frontiers of knowledge to develop Nigerian manpower.
He said the Commission, in conjunction with critical stakeholders, have recently embarked on some legacy projects including the much awaited guidelines on transnational education which will allow foreign investors and universities into the Nigerian university space through the establishment of four campuses in Nigeria.
“They can also undertake partnerships with existing universities under six competitive models, namely the franchise, the branch campus, the twinning and articulation and then the distance learning and or acquisition and merger.
