No fewer than 15 universities in the United Kingdom have announced plans to sack some workers and even stop running some courses because of the sharp decline in enrolment by foreign students including Nigerians.
According to a report by University World News, the sharp decline in foreign students enrolment was particularly felt at the postgraduate level and the decision to downsize is targeted mainly at those running courses at that level.
The development is also connected to the decision by the Uk government to reduce inflow of international students, as some concessions given them at that level have been whittled down.
Also, there are concerns that the high cost of living being experienced globally is also negatively affecting enrolment of foreign students at the undergraduate level.
From the prestigious Russell Group Universities to mid-tier universities and Scottish institutions, the current situation is not sparing most universities.
Robert Gordon University (RGU) recently introduced a voluntary severance scheme in the face of staff redundancy due to its financial difficulties as a result of a notable decline in international student enrollments, a consequence of post-Brexit alterations in UK immigration policies.
RGU cited escalating cost pressures and a considerable reduction in public funding as contributing factors.
Exchange rate, cost of sponsorship, IELTS
With the free fall of the Naira against major currencies that started mid last year, the British Council in Nigeria, hiked the cost of
International English Language Testing System examinations. It is a test a citizen of another country who wants to relocate to the UK to work or study has to take.
The cost of the test was between N80,000 and N90,000 before it was increased to N107,500 last September.
The forex issue in the country also led some admission seekers to start looking else.
“Dear valued Test Taker, We would like to inform you that effective from 1 September 2023, there will be a price increase for IELTS tests offered by the British Council.
“The new prices will be NGN 107,500 for IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training, NGN 116.000 for UK Visas and Immigration and NGN 104,000 for Life Skills.”
“The new prices are necessary to sustain the high-quality of standards for your testing experience.”
In the 2020-21 academic year, 21,305 Nigerian students were enrolled in UK universities. The figure rose to 58,791, before it crashed to 42,164 in 2023.
The cost of sponsorship, COS, has also gone up. A student studying at the undergraduate level in inner London is expected to have £1,334 as COS per month, while outside London, it is £1,015 monthly. For a postgraduate student, it is £2,530 per month in London and £2,030 monthly outside London.
Deregisteration of Nigerians over new immigiration law
There are reports of Nigerian students being deregistered by some British universities over new immigration law. They are also being advised to leave the country by their respective institutions, according to Benjamin Kuti, the president of the Nigerians in UK Community (NIUK) in a post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account recently.
Kuti, fondly known as Oluomo took to his X account to announce the unfortunate development.
He wrote: “So many universities have deregistered students in the UK and advised them to leave the country.”
Reacting to the development an X user @kelvinstrangee wrote “Oluomo this is the case of my cousin in Portsmouth. Is there any visa they can be on for now till he gets sponsorship? He certainly doesn’t want to go back to Nigeria.”
Another X user, @Omoiyaoluko wrote: “With all the new policies this is a great dilemma I must say, cos a recent policy states that students must “complete their studies” before been allowed to change their status, I really do wish that your cousin finds help, cos it’s really not a good tale to tell, I know!!”
@adexmoveec however, in his reaction asked: “When does that mean they can’t work part time while studying?
Oluomo, while responding to some reactions wrote: “Sure they are eligible to work part time while studying, provided they’re still enrolled in the school, cos if they are not enrolled their right to work will be cancelled which will make them ineligible to work.”
