A report has indicated that universities in the United Kingdom (UK) that rely heavily on Nigerian entrants may face financial pressures due to Nigeria’s foreign exchange crisis.
The naira has faced depreciation for over a year, sliding from an average of N388/$ in January 2023 to over N1600/$ in August 2024, while the Pound, which exchanged for the naira at N519 in late January 2023, has risen to over N2000/£ as of August 2024.
The countrys inflation has also risen to 34 per cent as of July 2024.
Education stakeholders say UK universities heavily reliant on entrants from Nigeria are bracing for the financial fallout of this crisis.
Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) showed that Nigerians now make the third largest intake of foreign students in the UK after India and China, with a total of 72,355 Nigerians enrolled in UK tertiary institutions in 2023, accounting for a 66 per cent increase from 2022.
Nigerians also made up more than 10 per cent of postgraduate students at 20 UK universities during the 2021/2022 session.
Some of the universities are Teesside University, University of Bradford, Robert Gordon University, the University of Hull, the University of Sunderland, Cardiff Metropolitan University, and Ulster University.
There are fears that enrolment figures will drop, with the naira depreciation pricing UK universities out of the reach of Nigerians.
Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, a tertiary institution collective, was quoted as explaining that Nigerian students in the UK started facing financial difficulties after the currency crisis began in 2023.
She said this has forced UK universities to offer flexible payment schedules, defer enrolments, or refund deposits where prospective students were concerned that their studies were no longer affordable.
Concerns about an imminent drop in enrolment due to the FX crisis are heightened by the ban on dependants for foreign nationals seeking study visas in the UK.
“Visa and immigration rules do mean that, unfortunately, universities may need to withdraw sponsorship where a student is unable to complete their studies,” Stern said.
