The decline in international students, notably from Nigeria, has sent shockwaves across the United Kingdom's educational system. This issue stems from the economic crises plaguing Africa's most populous country, Nigeria, which has spurred a decline in the number of applicants from the country. Recently some student visa reforms have been tabled by the UK government, which may have added to decline.
A report by The Times revealed that universities in the UK are currently contemplating staff and course cuts owing to the drop in "lucrative foreign students."
The Times' report notes that University administrators warn of "really difficult" slashes, including discontinuing entire courses and laying off academic staff, as a loss of one-third of international students could force several institutions into the red.
Some institutions have deduced that the crisis in Nigeria must be a notable factor in the decline of applications from the country, while Indian students are reportedly being discouraged as the government tightens visa restrictions.
Current plight of UK Universities
Currently, there is a one in ten staff cut as these universities begin to face the likelihood of bankruptcy. Additionally, the report disclosed that 15 universities in the UK are already in the process of cutting jobs, while more are set to join the fray, adopting aggressive cost cutting strategies.
"I've been in higher education for 30 years and senior leaders are more worried than I've ever seen them," said John Rushforth, executive secretary of the Committee of University Chairs.
He also went on to elaborate on the effects of this alarming problem, stating: "Universities have to think hard about what they want to protect and make choices about divesting themselves of things that are not core to the institution. There will be less choice for students. A lot of institutions have introduced lots of modules so that students can pick and choose. That's expensive, so it may be that you go back to more generic courses. Fundamentally, either you have to increase income, or you reduce quality or volume."
The revenue generated from indigenous students don't seem to be cutting it, as the UK relies on tuition fees from foreign students to balance the sheets.
"Tuition fees have effectively been frozen for more than a decade and with most universities now making a loss on domestic students, they have covered their costs with overseas students who pay far more. Numbers are up 60 percent over the past four years to 560,000," The Times report reads.
"But early acceptance data suggests overseas recruits in the coming financial year will be down by 37 percent," it adds.
Nigerians opt for alternative options
In February, statistics showed that Nigerian students were increasingly uninterested in studying in the UK. The statistics revealed that there was a 46% decline in the number of Nigerian student applicants to the UK.
"According to reports, the notable decrease in applications from Nigerian students is believed to be closely associated with the weakening of the naira and the visa restrictions preventing them from bringing along dependents or close family members to the UK. The report highlighted that Nigerian students had the highest number of dependents brought in by international students as of September 2023."
Late last year, the UK government under the current prime minister, Rishi Sunak, began reviewing the post study work visa which allows foreign students to stay two years in UK after study. Early this year, the UK government also introduced stringent visa norms limiting the inclusion of family members.
It is entirely possible that these reforms may have contributed to the decline in the applications of Nigerian students, given how adverse they seem to foreign students.
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