Nigeria, 7th biggest source of foreign students in Canada

(By Fred Ezeh – ABUJA)

The Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Christopher Thornley, has disclosed that Nigeria is the seventh biggest source of foreign students in Canada, contributing immensely to country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The envoy confirmed that over 10,000 Nigerian students gained admission into Canadian schools at different levels in 2015, a 20 percent increase from the previous year.

Thornley, addressing journalists at the 2017 EduCanada Fair in Abuja, acknowledged that the presence of Nigerian students in Canada had enriched the country’s educational institutions and society.

He said that each student that gained admission into a Canadian school represented a new link between the two countries that binds the ties uniting both countries.

EduCanada fair features representatives from Canadian educational institutions – universities, colleges and high schools – answering prospective foreign students’ enquiries on academic programmes and requirements.

“Foreign students and visitors integrate easily into our multicultural society. Canada is a bilingual country offering opportunities for English speaking foreign students to acquire knowledge of French and for Francophones to study in their mother tongue,” Thornley said.