‘No More Free For Nigerians’: Norwegian University Introduces Tuition Fees for Africans, Other Int’l Students
- Arguably the most topical issue in Norwegian higher education over the past year is the government’s decision to introduce tuition fees for students from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland
- Although there are ongoing resistances from higher education stakeholders, the development has affected the number of international undergraduate admission in the country
- A student of the University of Stavanger who spoke to Legit.ng said two Nigerians and a Ghanaian made up less than 20 international students in the school in 2023
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Stavanger, Norway - The University of Stavanger (UiS), Norway, is no longer a tuition-free institution, Legit.ng understands.
This comes after Norway’s parliament voted in June to abolish the free-tuition policy for international students outside the European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.
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Norway introduces tuition charge for international students
The university also updated its website to reflect the new development.
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It said:
“The Norwegian Government has decided to introduce tuition fees for international students coming from outside of EU/EEA from the academic year 2023/2024.”
A Nigerian undergraduate in the school, Ajoke Yosola, confirmed the development to Legit.ng.
She said:
“The latest update is that two Nigerians and Ghanaian make up less than 20 international students (outside EU citizens) in the whole university this year.
“I gained admission into the institution last year (2022), and about 30 of us Nigerians came at the time.
“I have no clue if they’ll review the policy next year.”
Yosola’s sentiments were echoed by Emmanuel Ovon Babatunde, a senior adviser in the Division of Research and Innovation at the University of Bergen, who spoke to University World News.
According to him, the policy is “disappointing, repressive, and discriminatory”.
Babatunde said:
“The shock of it all was that it has been supported by SV, a party that has stood for the weakest in the society.”
Babatunde was a beneficiary of Norway’s free tuition programme.
FUNAAB emerges 2nd best university in Nigeria
In a piece of related news, Legit.ng reported that the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) emerged as the second best among Nigeria’s 258 universities.
The federal university was also ranked 26th best in sub-Saharan Africa in the recently-released 2023 inaugural Times Higher Education’s (THE's) sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings.
Source: Legit.ng
