An analysis of the Rate of Return Home as an indicator of success from a government-funded overseas scholarships programme: The case of Rivers State (2008 – 2015).

Abstract

This study analyses the Rate of Return Home as an indicator of success of a government-funded Overseas Scholarship Programme using the Rivers State of Nigeria overseas scholarships as a model. Two research questions and seven hypotheses guided the study. Quantitative correlational research design was adopted in the study using the total population purposive sampling technique on the 1298 qualifying population. The secondary data was sourced from the database of the programme administrators as well as information obtained from reputable sources such as the United Nations. Descriptive statistics and binomial logit regression analytical techniques were employed to describe the behaviour of the data and to test the hypotheses of the likelihood of return home from study abroad. The findings revealed that Return Home was a key indicator of success of an overseas scholarships programme and 37% of the study population returned home from study abroad. This was below the implied 100% return home expectation. Age, Successful Graduation, Immigration Policy of study destination country and Level of Award were statistically significant estimators of likelihood to return home while level of development of the study destination country, Selection Criteria and Gender were not statistically significant indicators. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that the Rivers State Government should create incentives such as improved job opportunities and attractive remuneration packages to entice successfully graduated students to return home from study abroad.