UK universities heavily reliant on Nigerian students risk coming under financial pressure this year as a currency crisis continues to grip the West African nation.
Senior education sources say that while many universities are bracing for financial difficulty this year, there are particular concerns about those with high proportions of Nigerian students
Nigeria’s economic crisis has triggered concerns for about 20 universities in the United Kingdom ahead of the Fall admission cycle for local and international students in British varsities.
Many universities in the UK heavily rely on Nigerian students to pick up admissions, enrol for courses and pay a tuition fee of 11,000 pounds at the minimum.
Recent figures released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) showed UK universities have become increasingly dependent on Nigerian students, and there are 20 institutions where Nigerians make up a tenth of all postgraduate students.
Nigeria is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis in a generation, which is having a significant impact on current and prospective Nigerian students at some UK universities.
The annual inflation rate is now almost 34 percent, partly driven by President Bola Tinubu’s dropping of a fuel subsidy and floating of naira on the currency market.
This exacerbated financial problems have raised the prospect of UK varsities losing large numbers of fresh Nigerian students, just as some Nigerian students already enrolled at British universities have been thrown off their courses after struggling to pay tuition fees.
In 2023, a total of 72,355 Nigerian students were enrolled in UK higher education institutions. The figure is expected to drop drastically this year following the collapse of the naira and restrictions on visas introduced by the former Conservative government.
Scotland-based Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, where 29 per cent of postgraduate students were from Nigeria, had the highest proportion of students from the West African country.
The University of Bradford had the second highest proportion, with 27 per cent, followed by Teesside, Hull and Sunderland, which all had more than 20 per cent.
Data from the Migration Observatory showed Nigerian students brought the highest proportion of dependants to the UK in 2022, with each student bringing an average of one family member with them.
The immediate past government in the UK introduced a ban on dependant visas for most postgraduate students in January in an attempt to reduce overall migration.
Meanwhile, the prospect of losing large numbers of Nigerian students has now sparked concerns of widespread financial difficulties across the university sector.
Earlier this year, some Nigerian students already enrolled at Teeside University were thrown off their courses after struggling to pay tuition fees.
The students were blocked from their studies and reported to the Home Office after the value of the naira crashed and wiped out their savings. The university said it had “no choice” as failure to pay was a breach of visa sponsorship rules..
