Olabisi Deji-Folutile
Nigeria tops all African countries in the number of students it sends to the U.S, according to the President of Morgan State University (MSU) David K. Wilson.
Approximately, Nigeria sends 12,000 students to the United States alone per year, a number that is equivalent to 30 percent of all students from Africa, thus ranking it the 12th in the world among countries of origin of international students in the United States.
Wilson disclosed this while speaking on the approval of a Five-Year Agreement, Bolstering University’s Potential Ph.D. Output and Leadership among HBCUs in Producing Graduates with Doctoral Degrees. The new educational collaboration is with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), a fiduciary and funding agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
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The five-year agreement with TETFund will create a pathway for international students to study in the U.S. and pursue a Morgan degree. TETFund shall be sponsoring cohorts of eligible and admitted graduate students from public tertiary institutions in Nigeria who will be enrolled in Morgan Ph.D. programmes, in addition to cohorts of postdoctoral researchers from public tertiary institutions in Nigeria who will conduct research at Morgan.
The agreement could bring up to 50 (no less than 30) new Ph.D. students and up to 20 postdoctoral researchers to campus each year. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the TETFund was signed during the Morgan board’s spring quarterly meeting, held on May 5.
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Wilson said Morgan had been exploring potential relationship opportunities with Nigeria for the past three years, adding that with the collaboration, Nigeria now stands as the third-ranking country of origin in number of international students enrolled at Morgan.
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“Through our arrangement with the TETFund, not only will Morgan greatly enhance its standing as a high research university, but the resulting research could be globally beneficial. Morgan provides a world-class education, and we are appreciative of being given this opportunity to work in partnership with Nigeria to produce intellectual capital capable of advancing the nation toward its goals. This partnership also helps fulfill Morgan’s global aspirations while strengthening our relationships on the African continent,” he said.
Through the partnership, early, mid-level and senior career faculty and staff members from Nigeria’s 238 public universities, colleges of education and polytechnics can pursue their PhDs and postdoctoral research at Morgan in fields and disciplines relevant to the developmental needs of Nigeria.
TETFund will provide the funding, via scholarships and other grants, to support the educational expenses (tuition/fees + living expenses) of the students and the salary plus living expenses of postdoctoral students. TETFund is also expected to establish Centres of Excellence in Nigeria that will engage in collaborative research with Morgan.
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TETFund Executive Secretary, Professor Suleiman E. Bogoro, said, “We are glad to secure a worthy partnership with Morgan State University through the recently signed MOU that reflects a new paradigm in TETFund geared towards content development of more than 220 public (federal- and state-owned) tertiary educational institutions in Nigeria.
“ These institutions are the direct beneficiaries of TETFund intervention lines, being academic staff training and development, R&D as well as the upcoming TETFund Centres of Excellence.”
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