Comparison Of University Tuition Fees In England And Nigeria

What are the similarities and differences between universities in England and Nigeria in relation to tuition fees? Why are they important?

Compare and contrast the higher education system in England with that of Nigeria in terms of funding and quality. Which system is preferable?

University tuition fees in England to increase

“University tuition fees in England will rise to £9,250 per year from 2017 and the increase could apply to students who have already started courses. The inflation-linked rise represents a 2.8% increase and if that continued would mean fees rising above £10,000 in the next few years.  Universities face the dilemma that under consumer protection requirements they will need to announce the £9,250 fee before the beginning of the next application cycle in early September. However, until formally changed by Parliament, universities are not allowed to charge a fee higher than £9,000, which is the current limit.

The government says the increase can apply to students who have already begun courses - but this will depend on the terms of student contracts in individual universities.  The fees will increase in subsequent years. Royal Holloway and the University of Kent have to still to decide on whether to charge higher fees for current students, but expect to apply them to new students starting in 2017, if the fee limit increase goes ahead. The University of Surrey will not increase fees for its current undergraduates, but fees will increase each year for students starting in 2017.

Universities minister Jo Johnson has published a statement setting out plans to link higher fees to better teaching. Liberal Democrat university spokeswoman Baroness Lorely Burt said: "Linking fees to teaching quality in this way is unacceptable. Enabling any university that scrapes a 'meet expectations' rating to increase fees by 2.8% shows that this isn't about teaching quality at all. If universities need further support then let's have a proper discussion about where that money comes from, rather than pretending that this is somehow a quid pro quo for providing the quality of teaching students should already be able to expect". Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust education charity, said the fee increase will add to student debts that we have shown to be by far the highest in the English-speaking world. A real concern is that the removal of maintenance grants will almost certainly deter poorer students, who now face debts of over £50,000 on graduation”.

“Ibadan – Contrary to popular belief, the fees being paid in the country’s private universities are still relatively low, the Pro-Chancellor of Lead City University, Ibadan, Prof. Jide Owoeye, has said. Owoeye, who is also the Chairman of the university’s Council, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan that the fees being paid in private institutions were relatively low compared to their public counterparts which receive billions of naira in government subvention. He said: “ The cost per head of student in University of Ibadan or University of Lagos for example cannot be less than N700,000 when you are talking about Arts courses or Basic Social Sciences courses. “ But when it comes to courses like Medicine, Engineering, government is spending nothing less than N1.5million on each of the students, but the students do not know this because they are not paying. “ Those students that attend public universities are not attending for free. Somebody is paying. It is you and I, the tax payers, that are paying because that money could have been spent on something else like electricity, but it is a function of opportunity cost.’’ According to Owoeye, only very few private universities in Nigeria charge over one million naira in fees for certain courses. “ In our own case, the highest fee is about N500,000; we have fees as low as N100,000 in the Faculty of Arts for courses like Performing Arts as well as English and Literary Studies. “ But people don’t know because they don’t come and find out in the belief that private universities must be expensive. “ We really must thank JAMB Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, who has made it possible for people to find out what is happening in private universities. “ We have state universities which charge higher fees than ours. But we think quality can be guaranteed if resources are well managed and if you have good enrolment. “ Go to Ghana, you pay an average of 6,000 dollars as school fees. Ghana is a third world country, it is not as developed as Nigeria. “ The universities in Ghana are not as developed as those in Nigeria. “ The best public university in Ghana is Legon (University of Ghana, Legon), but it cannot match our own premier university, University of Ibadan. “ Yet people run there for reasons I cannot understand; it may be they don’t have the information they need,’’ he said.(NAN)”

Similarities and differences between university fees in England and Nigeria

Increment in the university tuition fees in England that affects the present students as well.
There is a possibility that the concerned universities might need to announce the increase in the fees during the commencement of the next application cycle.
The government opines that the increase in the fees of the existing students would depend on the terms of the student contracts in the individual universities.
There have been debates about the relation between the increase in the fees and the quality of the teaching that is provide in the universities to the concerned students.
         
The fees in the private universities tend to be lower than the fees that is implemented in the public universities.
The Nigerian government has reportedly taken the responsibility for educating the students who have enrolled themselves in the various public universities of Nigeria.
The private universities of the country charge the students high amounts for the courses that they offer to the concerned students.
The students who have been enrolling in the private universities have been allowed the freedom to enquire about the various activities that do take place within the university.
There are debates on the fact that the educational fees charged by the University of Ghana is way above those that are charged by the University of Ibadan due to the fact the underdeveloped condition of the former as compared to the latter.

What are the similarities and differences between universities in England and Nigeria in relation to tuition fees? Why are they important?
The universities in England have been charging the students with higher fees for the educational services that they offer to the students. The universities have been reported to have been planning an increment in the fees of the students irrespective of the fact whether they have already been enrolled in the university or have been seeking admission to the university.
On the other hand, the Nigerian public universities have been charging the concerned students with the minimal amounts as compared to the students of the private universities. The private universities do charge the students more due to the fact that these universities are not controlled by the government. However, there is a difference between the fees structure of the universities based on the development status of the university. The university of Ghana charges more than the University of Ibadan due to the fact that Ibadan is more developed than the state of Ghana.

Section 1: Portfolio Evidence III

Complete your essay outline below. An outline is a map of the main ideas included in your essay. You should not write full sentences, just notes of the main points that you are going to write in each paragraph of your essay, along with in-text referencing details (MB=Main Body).      
Higher Education System in England and Nigeria – A Comparative Study

Impact of university fees on students and education

The higher education of the students refers to the various courses that are undertaken by the student in order to complete the educational and academic career of the concerned student. The higher education is often delivered at the various universities, colleges and the other educational institutions that are dedicated to the concern.

Thesis Statement:

The following essay deals with the comparative study of the higher education that is imparted to the students who have been pursuing the courses at the various universities in England and Nigeria. The essay attempts a comparison based on the quality of the education that is imparted and the funding that needs to be incurred by the students.
         
ØThe quality of the education is debated to depend on the fees levied
ØDisparity among the quality of the education imparted at the various universities in the country.         
ØStudents of the public universities tend to pay higher fees than their counterparts at the private universities.
ØExperts agree to the fact that the remuneration of the educators play a role in the quality of the provided education.

Paragraph structure (recommended word count: 300, including notes)
Write a MB paragraph for your essay below (funding OR quality). Then, highlight its parts using a different colour for each one of them. Use the following colour code:

Write your paragraph here. Then, colour the different parts.

The implementation of a higher educational fees might be a challenge to a number of students in the various universities. The tuition fees that are levied upon the students pursuing the various higher educational courses at the universities of England are expected to be on the rise. The sources had also revealed the fact that this might also affect the students who have already been enrolled at the various universities. However, the change might not be applicable unless approved by the concerned government of the country. According to the concerned reports, the funding of the courses might face an increase in the years to follow. The government of England does not hold itself responsible for the education that is imparted to the students. The rise in the fees of the universities are known to affect the students majorly (Atherton 2018). The students of the different universities get affected by the different approaches taken by the universities. On the other hand, the Nigerian government is seen to have been supportive of the students who demonstrate the interest in the concerned subject of the study. The public universities of the country levy a minimal charge on the students as the fees for the continuation of the higher studies in the concerned subject. The students who have been enrolled at the various private educational institutions do however have to pay a higher amount of fees compared those in the public universities. The public universities of Nigeria seem to charge the concerned students with the lesser amounts of fees due to the fact that these universities receive the needed subvention from the government of the country (Odia and Odia, 2017). However, the educational fees charged by the various universities of the country depend on the development of the state wherein they are located. The universities in Ghana tend to seek more fees than the University of Ibadan due to the fact that the state of Ghana is not as developed as the state of Ibadan. Thus, it might be said that the students of the various institutions might face various problems due to the increment in the tuition fees.

Public vs private university tuition fees in Nigeria

    
ØThe research on the concerned topic.
ØThe comprehension of the problems presented in the news stories.
ØChoice of the key factors that are presented in the news stories.
ØThe composition of the thesis statement of the essay
ØThe composition of the introduction of the essay.

Things you need to work on (approx. 50 words):
     
I need to work on my language skills in order to present to the concerned assessors. The draft of the concerned essay needed to be edited many times in order to complete the essay with the correct usage of the grammar. I also need to work on the techniques that are needed to compose the essay in a manner that represents the correct flow of the information presented in the essay.

Please type your essay below (750 words).

Make sure that:

·Your essay has an appropriate title, an introduction, two main body paragraphs, a conclusion and a reference list.
·You have used at least 2 references (in-text citations) in each of your main body paragraphs (at least 4 references in total).
·You have discussed BOTH countries in EACH of your main body paragraphs (point-by-point approach).

Compare and contrast the higher education system in England with that of Nigeria in terms of funding and quality. Which system is preferable?
     
The higher education of the students refers to the courses that are undertaken by the student in order to complete the educational and academic career of the concerned student. The following essay deals with the comparative study of the higher education of the students pursuing the courses at the universities in England and Nigeria based on the quality of the education that is imparted and the funding that needs to be incurred by the students.

The implementation of a higher educational fees might be a challenge to a number of students in the various universities. The tuition fees that are levied upon the students pursuing the various higher educational courses at the universities of England are expected to be on the rise. The sources had also revealed the fact that this might also affect the students who have already been enrolled at the various universities. However, the change might not be applicable unless approved by the concerned government of the country. According to the concerned reports, the funding of the courses might face an increase in the years to follow. The government of England does not hold itself responsible for the education that is imparted to the students. The rise in the fees of the universities are known to affect the students majorly (Atherton 2018). The students of the different universities get affected by the different approaches taken by the universities. On the other hand, the Nigerian government is seen to have been supportive of the students who demonstrate the interest in the concerned subject of the study. The public universities of the country levy a minimal charge on the students as the fees for the continuation of the higher studies in the concerned subject. The students who have been enrolled at the various private educational institutions do however have to pay a higher amount of fees compared those in the public universities. The public universities of Nigeria seem to charge the concerned students with the lesser amounts of fees due to the fact that these universities receive the needed subvention from the government of the country (Odia and Odia, 2017). However, the educational fees charged by the various universities of the country depend on the development of the state wherein they are located. The universities in Ghana tend to seek more fees than the University of Ibadan due to the fact that the state of Ghana is not as developed as the state of Ibadan.

The quality of the education that is imparted to the students at the universities in England tend to be linked to the amount of the fees levied by the concerned university. There have been debates on the issues that have arisen due to the proposed fact that the quality of the education that is imparted to the concerned students are in parity with the fees that are borne by the students. This has resulted in huge debates among the various experts in the matter of deciding the quality of the education that is imparted to the students at the universities on the basis of the fees that the universities levy on the concerned students of that particular course. According to the experts, the quality of the education in England should not be dependent on the fees that the students need to pay for the concerned course of the higher education (Wilkins, Shams and Huisman 2013). The Nigerian students however face o such conditions due to the fact that maximum of the fees of the students, who have got themselves enrolled at the public universities, is borne by the government of the country. The students who have been enrolled at the various privately owned educational institutions however need to pay an amount that is slightly greater than their counterparts at the public universities. There are some universities wherein the management opines that the quality of the education imparted does depend on the amount of the fees that is levied by the universities. The reason behind this statement is the fact that the faculty of the universities who are appointed for the purpose of imparting knowledge to the students might also look out for the universities that offer them a better pay package (Okuwa and Campbell 2017). Thus, in order to present the concerned students with the necessary amount of the education in the concerned field the educational institution might have to levy a higher amount of the fees for the students.

Thus, from the above discussion it might be concluded that unlike their English counterparts, the Nigeria higher educational students do have a scope for availing the needed education at a cheaper rate due to the fact that the Nigerian government extends grants to the various public universities that help the students to pursue their higher education in the subject of their choice. The English government might be recommended to extend grants towards the universities in the country that might help the reduction in the proposed tuition fees of the universities in the country.

Reference List:

Atherton, G. 2018. Higher tuition fees are distorting the choices poorer students make. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2015/may/01/higher-tuition-fees-are-distorting-the-choices-poorer-students-make-lower-tuition-fees-could-see-poorer-students-applying-for-different-courses [Accessed 18 Mar. 2018].

Odia, J.O. and Odia, A.A., 2017. Accessibility to Higher Education in Nigeria. The Future of Accessibility in International Higher Education, p.104.

Okuwa, O.B. and Campbell, O.A., 2017. Financing Higher Education in Nigeria. In Sustainable Transformation in African Higher Education (pp. 159-171). SensePublishers, Rotterdam.

Wilkins, S., Shams, F. and Huisman, J., 2013. The decision-making and changing behavioural dynamics of potential higher education students: the impacts of increasing tuition fees in England. Educational Studies, 39(2), pp.125-141.