In a meeting held at the State House in Abuja on Wednesday, Richard Montgomery, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, announced a remarkable increase in the number of Nigerian students choosing the United Kingdom as their preferred educational destination.
Montgomery revealed that the influx of Nigerian students to the UK has multiplied fivefold in the past three years.
The British High Commissioner expressed his satisfaction with this surge during a press conference that followed his meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima.
However, Montgomery shed light on the recent decision by the UK to ban international students from bringing their family members with them starting in 2024.
The primary objective behind this regulation, as clarified by Montgomery, is to prevent excessive strain on the housing infrastructure in the country and to control the inflow of migrants.
It would be recalled the UK Home Office had issued a statement on May 23, 2023, stipulating that international students, including those from Nigeria, would no longer be permitted to bring their families along when pursuing studies in the UK from January 2024.
Additionally, overseas students would be restricted from transitioning to a work visa until they have completed their studies.
The decision regarding the visa restrictions garnered mixed reactions from various quarters, including international students, educational institutions, and certain British lawmakers.
Critics argued that this new policy could exacerbate labor shortages in crucial sectors, such as healthcare, while potentially tarnishing the UK’s global reputation as a leading destination for international talents.
Addressing questions from journalists, Wednesday, Montgomery justified the decision by providing crucial context.
He reiterated that the exponential increase in the number of Nigerian students coming to the UK had been a resounding success for British universities. He expressed delight in the growing Nigerian student community, emphasizing the positive impact they have had on the educational landscape in the UK.
He said: “On the issue of student visas, I’ll also like to provide a context. The number of Nigerian students coming to the UK has increased five folds in the last three years.
“It’s a fantastic success story for our universities. And we are really delighted that so many Nigerians are coming to the UK,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery clarified that the visa restrictions on international students’ families were not specifically targeted at Nigeria.
He stressed that the policy aimed to safeguard the infrastructure of the UK, as an overwhelming number of students from various countries had been bringing their dependents in recent years.
Highlighting the scale of the issue, the British High Commissioner shared statistics from the previous year, indicating that the UK granted three million new visas, with 325,000 of those visas issued to Nigerians alone. Nigerian visitors constituted more than 10 percent of the individuals traveling to London and the UK as a whole.
Montgomery elucidated two key factors behind the visa restrictions. Firstly, it was becoming increasingly challenging to provide adequate housing and services to meet the needs of the growing student population.
Secondly, managing the influx and outflow of visitors was essential to maintain control over migration, mirroring the approach taken by the Nigerian government.
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