A Nigerian Graduate in America
An analysis of census data and several local surveys have shown that Nigerians don’t just value education but surpass all other ethnic groups and nationalities in the United States of America when it comes to obtaining degrees.
According to a US media organisation, CWNews published this week, Nigerian Americans have long been known for their community’s intense cultural emphasis on education.
“Being Black, you are already at a disadvantage,” Oluyinka Olutoye, an associate professor of paediatric surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, told the Houston Chronicle.
“You really need to excel far above if you want to be considered for anything in this country”.
According to 2006 census data, 37 percent of Nigerians in the US had bachelor’s degrees, 17 percent held master’s degrees and 4 percent had doctorates. In contrast, the same census data showed only 19 percent of white Americans had bachelor’s degrees, 8 percent held master’s degrees and only 1 percent held doctorates, the paper reports.
The census data was bolstered by an independent analysis of 13 annual Houston-area surveys conducted by Rice University and commissioned by the Chronicle.
“These are higher levels of educational attainment than were found in any other…community,” said Stephen Klineberg, a sociologist at Rice University who conducts the annual Houston Area Survey.
However, despite the strides in education made by many African immigrants, including Nigerian-Americans, discrimination still colours their prospects for employment.
In addition to cultural expectations about obtaining higher education, the paper reports that many African immigrants are more likely to pursue higher education as a means of maintaining their immigrant status in the US.
“In a way, it’s a Catch-22 — because of immigration laws you are forced to remain in school, but then the funny thing is you end up getting your doctorate at the age of 29,” said Liberian born Amadu Jacky Kaba, an associate professor at Seton Hall University in South Orange. He added, “If you stay in school, immigration will leave you alone.”
(C) Politico 15/01/14
