Most students do not choose Mathematics as their first choice of course in most Nigerian Private Universities. They rather prefer Engineering or Computer Science. Really, this is not the case in Federal or State owned Universities where students choose Mathematics as their choice. Can somebody please explain.....?
This might be caused by the students perception of a difference in the quality of the degrees offered, since the two types of universities might be inclined towards different goals, in spite of having the same courses.
Private universities sometimes focus on more practice oriented and profession-oriented degrees, so that paying students find it easier to translate their fee investment into job opportunities.
On the other hand, public universities rely on the governments perception that fundamental science like mathematics is elemental to science, technology, culture and society at large. This perception, together with the guaranteed stability, that private universities sometimes do not have, allows the promotion of good degrees in mathematics in public universities, even if it takes a lot of time to recover the investment made. So public universities can afford a longer term perspective of their added value.
In a country with less resources there might also be another reason. The lack of funds in public universities might determine a preferential investment in theoretical subjects which are less expensive because they do not require labs, computers, etc. So public universities might excel in this field.
These are just some ideas, but surely there are other local factors, from your country reality, that I am not aware of.
Good luck.
Dear @Pelumi, this is a good thread in order to know about the status of Mathematics in Nigeria. I also do think that this depends on the works market, and I wonder if state universities graduates do have better chance to get a job than the private universities graduates.
The enrollment of student into Mathematics department is very low because students see the course as abstract filled with cramming and many student have determined not to study or choose a course that involves calculations as a result of the grades they had in their high school result.
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