Posted by By CHIAZOR MICHAEL on
The Director-General of Global Education Centre, Mr Mick Howarth, has said that Nigerian students studying in the United Kingdom are performing exceptionally.
The Director-General of Global Education Centre, Mr Mick Howarth, has said that Nigerian students studying in the United Kingdom are performing exceptionally.
My name is Mick Howarth, Director General of Global Education Centre, here in Nigeria and we offer education services to help students in Nigeria. We have done tremendously well. We have students from Nigeria studying in colleges in the United Kingdom.
Why did you go into helping students gain admission in the United Kingdom?
I have been in Nigeria many years and I like the country and the people. Students have a great deal to offer in terms of educaiton and we are in Nigeria to help the country prosper and benefit from our education. This is the major reason we are operating this business in Nigeria.
How long have you been in this business?
My experience is 18 years of education in the UK. I worked in two universities in the United Kingdom. I was also involved in international marketing and recruitment in the last five years. I got extensive experience in the UK higher education. I also spent 13 years in the classroom as a lecturer, I developed many programmes in many different initiatives around the world.
Why did you choose to partner Global Education?
No, it's not a partnerhip, Global Education is a company in its own right. We have three offices in Nigeria and also in Cameroon and we work with many institutions in the UK, universities and colleges and also increasingly now, we are working with other countries' institutions. In Malaysia, Singapore and Ukraine. Because everybody knows that the cost of study in the United Kingdom and countries like Canada, America and UK can be very high. So, we are now working out other alternatives for students wishing to study abroad.
Why are some students denied visa?
The major reason for refusing of Visa is that many students apply with genuine documents but unfortunately the high cost of studying in the United Kingdom makes it difficult to get a visa. There are a certain requirements from sponsors before visa will be granted.
How will you rate Global Education?
We are doing extremely well. I have 13 years experience in the classroom; I am a Chartered Engineer, a professional person and I know what goes on in the classrooms. We certainly are the most organized, our experience is mainly in the area of marketing.
I also think that we offer complete services in terms of applications, educational advice and visa counselling and processing.
Do you have a Visa Counselling Service Unit?
We offer such service trying counselling the students about the success or chances of getting a visa. Checking all the sponsorship connections such as bank statements, birth certificates and other documents. We also check whether the students complete their application forms and package everything and send them to the British High Commissioner in Lagos or Abuja. If the students are refused, it is unfair. I will intervene and write to the High Commission. I will not stoop because I know the high commission personally.
How are Nigerian students fairing in the United Kingdom?
There is no gainsaying the fact that getting a visa to study in the UK is quite difficult. All the students we have sent to the various schools, in the UK are performing excellently well and we are happy about it.
Compare the education in Malaysia and UK
In terms of the cost, education in Malaysia and Ukraine is 70 per cent below what the UK charges in terms of education. What I did was to check the validity of the institution we are woking with, check the quality and I also check other countries that we are working with, like UK, USA and Canada. Many of our students have to do two years in countries like Malaysia and Ukraine before being transfered to the UK or USA.
What are your achievements so far?
On the whole, we have 150 visa applications but we have sent 50 students to various countries. We started serious business in Nigeria around June 2006, so we have made rapid progress. The reason for our success is that we operate with integrity and professionalism as our watchwords.
Is there plan for expansion of Global education?
In February, we opened our office in Jos and I'm looking at the possibility of expanding. In fact, what I am looking at now, is to seek to partner a college here in Nigeria to offer accredited programmes such as ACCA, CIN, ICAN and things like that, and so I am always looking for opportunities to expand our services.
What kind of concession do you have for such partnership?
Yes. Let me give you a particular initiative, one of our institutions is offering 25 per cent discount for all students from Nigeria to study in the UK. We have another institution which offers completely free access programme as long as there is a chance for bachelors programme.