Teesside University has said it will pay for flight tickets for some Nigerians to return home after they struggled to pay their tuition fees.
The students protested, asking the university to give them more time as the floating of the naira and its subsequent fall had affected their savings, making it difficult to meet payments.
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Their financial struggles were exacerbated when the university changed payment plans from seven instalments to three.
The university said it had reported them to the Home Office and their visas had been revoked meaning they must now return to Nigeria.
Following their call for help, the Nigerian government intervened and the university now says some of them have been re-enrolled.
ALSO READ: Nigerian Government Wades In As Nigerian Students Face Deportation From UK Over Late School Fees
One of the affected students told the BBC that, “I was asked to return home, pay the balance remaining and apply to return at a later date, but I don’t trust them now.
“I feel this is a way to escape responsibility and they may not let me come back.
“If they did, it would cost me thousands to pay flights, visa fees and NHS fees again.
“I’ve already spent so much coming here and now they want me to go back without any kind of certification to reflect my achievements.
“The whole aim of coming here was to study, we haven’t committed any kind of crime.
“There’s been no apology for the stress and trauma the university has put me through.”
