Follow Us on Google
•May withdraw wards
By Chinwendu Obienyi
Nigerian parents whose wards are studing in various universities in the United Kingdom are currently at their wits’ end as the pounds sterling hit an all-time high of N2,052/1£ on Monday.
Consequently, they are struggling to pay school fees amid a worsening volatility experienced in the foreign exchange (FX) market.
This depreciation stands as an unprecedented occurrence, representing the lowest point in the historical performance of the naira.
It has led to some parents looking at a possibility of withdrawing their wards from the schools in the UK.
Findings reveal that while school fees have not yet increased substantially in most UK universities, the naira devaluation has jacked up the fees paid by some parents from Nigeria.
For instance, Mr Samuel Rodrick, who works as a banker in one of the new generation banks, said, “I had to struggle to pay my daughter’s school fees last month. Ever since she got to the UK, she has not started work and so I have been the one paying and even supporting her. The poor girl is really going through depression and questioning us if we made the right decision to send her to the UK. That period I paid her fee at an exchange rate of N1,850/£1. Today, the value has changed. She is meant to pay her next instalment and honestly I do not know how to tell her that I do not know where I can get money because the situation here in Nigeria is really bad”.
Another parent, Ann Chigoziri, a civil servant said, “As I speak with you, I have no kobo because the exchange rate volatility has eaten deep inside my savings and that is due to the inability to get pounds from the bank. I am even tired of borrowing and if my son says he has to pay school fees at the end of this month, I might tell him to come back home and look for work here in Nigeria. The government is not helping matters at all”.
Daily Sun investigations reveal that the number of enrollments into UK universities have declined significantly since the naira depreciation horror got to unbearable levels. According to data supplied by Enroly, a platform that automates the onboarding and arrival process for universities in the UK, overall deposit payments dipped by 52 per cent, CAS issuance fell by 64 per cent and visa issuance dropped by 71 per cent when compared to the same point in the cycle for January 2023 applicants.
Nedu Chidi, an agent who handles students processes for a particular university in Middlesbrough said, “it is quite unfortunate as to what is happening. The ones we have handled so far have been complaining about the exchange rate situation. We on our own side have told the university but they cannot do anything because the situation is happening in Nigeria and not in the UK.
If you as a student do not pay your fee, the UKVI might wade in after complaints from the school and then send you back home which is what most students are trying to avoid now”
Concurrently, black-market exchange rates have continued to witness the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, exacerbated by a substantial surge in inflation, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for January 2024.
The inflation rate surged to 29.90 per cent, indicating a significant rise from the 28.92 per cent recorded in the previous month. This data reflects a noteworthy uptick in the headline inflation rate for January 2024, with a 0.98 per cent increase compared to December 2023 figures.
These developments persist despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) implementation of several policies aimed at bolstering the supply of FX.
