Nigerian students’ payments for the new academic session commencing in September in United Kingdom universities have dropped by 65 per cent, a report by the Financial Times of London has said.
It compared figures with August 2023, adding that Indian students’ payments also dropped by 44 per cent.
According to the paper, there was a 35 per cent drop in deposits for slots in UK universities by other foreign students this month. Quoting data from Enroly, it said the figure dropped when compared to August 2023.
Smaller markets, such as Kenya and Nepal, showed increased demand compared to a year ago.
Enroly’s Chief Executive, Jeffrey Williams, said the “early signs” of recovery reflected efforts by the new government to stabilise immigration policy.
“Concerns regarding the potential elimination of the postgraduate route work visa have been assuaged,” he said, adding that this had been helped by “continued political uncertainty” in other markets such as Australia and Canada.
According to Harry Anderson, Deputy Director of Universities UK International, the sector lobby group, Labour’s retention of the Conservative’s ban on most graduate students bringing family members impacted the figures.
“Most of our competitor destinations do allow students to bring their family members, and most of the growth in recent years has been in postgraduate taught courses where students typically tend to be older and have family members.
“Still, the hope is that stability signalled by the new government will benefit the next admissions cycle after the turbulence of the last 18 months. But the sector needs to be working hard with embassies to communicate this,” Anderson added.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s balance of payment compilation spanning the first six months of 2023, showed that Nigerians spent $896.09million on foreign education, with a large chunk going to the UK.
