6 Reasons ​You Shouldn’t Attend a Private University -

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 Article written by Ehi-Sulaiman Miriam and Tina Ohanu - 

Many Nigerian students these days often move quickly to queue for private universities when making a choice of institution. I agree that private universities have advantages like the absence of strike, easy access to lecturers… Well, that’s about all.  

Public universities, federal and state, have a lot of advantages, from cheaper school fees, to the freedom to be an adult. Public universities expose you to the real world, introduces you to the hustle of life unlike private universities that consist of a lot of brats who are literally spoon-fed. They are so pampered, ​making difficult to face the real world when they become graduates.  

So here’s my case for choosing a public university. 

• 1. Public universities allow for freedom and independence:  

Students in public universities enjoy the freedom to make decisions for themselves and learn to be almost independent. Private universities keep students within the four walls of their campuses and under certain rules more suited for teenagers than young adults. The laws in public universities are not imposed on the students; they are just the basic principles a normal student is meant to follow. It’s funny when I see pictures of private university students being punished or hear of certain rules like compulsory attendance of chapel, feeding time tables, dress codes, etc.​.​ It is absurd; these are adults​!​  

• 2. Cost of education:  

It is a lot cheaper to attend public university than a private one and this is not limited to school fees. Cost of living on public universities is also cheaper. Students cook their own meals and hav​e access to shops on campus and in town where prices of goods and services are competitive. On the other hand, the cost of living on a private university secluded campus for one semester is enough to build a house.  

• 3. Public university g​ives “exposure” to students: 

It’s more than obvious that public university students are ​”​sharper​”​ than private university students. Private university students who are often referred to as “JJC” or “Learners” by public university students, live what I term “the microwave life” which is the easy life. In federal universities you get to meet all sorts: from cultists to Aristo chicks, people with different personalities. It makes one exposed to what life really is. One is exposed to the hustle and learns how to struggle for things. There are still brats in federal universities but most of them get to grow up when exposed to the hustle.  

• 4. Life on and off campus is FUN:  

There are so many parties to attend, clubs and events. One gets to meet real people, one also learns to be real. There is a lot of gist and gossip, lot of things to laugh at. Rather than chapel, it’s clubbing. Dating is even fun in federal schools. Couples express love without fear as adults. One gets to see students that are rich and poor mingling as equals; students who express themselves through their dressing and not relegated to some uniform.  

• 5. Hard work is compulsory: 

Students in public universities have work​ed​ through exceptional odds to succeed; challenges that help one not take life for granted. Imagine a department of over a thousand students with a very small lecture hall or a lecturer who spends only twenty minutes in a class where he is meant to spend two hours, or one who only gives handouts. Faced with issues like these, students work extra hard to come out with well-deserved results.  

• 6. Public universities produce more mature graduates:  

With all the challenges: strikes, nonchalant lecturers, freedom to express yourself as adult etc., public universities are more equipped for life after graduation. They know that things would not just be handed to them and are used to making decisions for themselves. -

Do you agree?