International Journal of Advanced Educational Research

Authors
Ayodapo Oluwadare Jegede, Alfred Omokhodion Eriakha, Omoniyi J Ola-Olorun, Wilson Oyekigho Erhun

Abstract
Introduction: Out-of-pocket costs of education have increased for individual households with increased educational cost. The study determined how undergraduate pharmacy students finance their education, identified the proportion of students on scholarship and evaluated the socioeconomic characteristics of sponsors and the students. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional survey of pharmacy students in nineteen accredited schools in Nigeria. The sample size was obtained by stratified random sampling method. Pretested questionnaires were used to collect data which were summarized with appropriate statistics tested at p < 0.05. Results: The results show that most students both public (n= 1040, 88.1%) and private (n= 180, 88.2%) universities were sponsored by their parents. The combined income of parents of respondents in private universities was significantly higher (χ² (16, N = 1385) = 70.141, p < .001) than respondents from public universities. Few students were on scholarship in both the public (n= 12, 1.0%) and private (n= 5, 2.5%) universities. Conclusion: With limited sponsoring opportunities, undergraduate pharmacy training is majorly financed by parents across public and private universities.