Nigeria Leads in UK’s List of Top 5 Countries With Highest Number of Foreign Students’ Dependents
- The United Kingdom has witnessed a surge in dependents of Nigerian students studying in its institutions
- The UK government has raised eyebrows, prompting the move government to analyze the factors contributing to this unprecedented increase
- From the UK government's report released on its website, India, China and Pakistan topped the chart
Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements
UK - The government of the United Kingdom (UK)'s latest report highlights a remarkable increase in the number of dependents from Nigerian students; rising from 1,427 in 2019 to 60,506 at the end of September 2023.
Source: Facebook
While India traditionally held a significant share of dependents, the latest report issued by the UK government vis its official website, showcases a notable shift, with Nigerian students now leading in the number of accompanying family members.
The unprecedented surge of dependents of Nigerian foreign students exceeded the number from India which had 43,445 at the end of September which had 2,127 in 2019.
“Part of the increase in dependants is linked to the increase in main applicants (see section 1) but there have also been large increases in dependants of Indian and Nigerian nationals,” UK said.
“There were 60,506 dependants of Nigerian nationals in the year ending September 2023, an increase of 59,079 compared to 2019 and 9,435 more visas issued than to main applicants in the same period.
“Indian nationals had the second highest number of dependants, increasing from 2,127 to 43,445 in the same time period,” UK govt added.
The UK government also said that both the overall number of families and the portion of all sponsored study-related visas granted to dependants have risen since 2019.
“This may reflect a change in the composition of students coming to study in the UK with more students coming for higher education compared to before the pandemic,” the UK said.
UK government explains reason for giving 60,506 visas to Nigerians
The UK government said students coming to study at a higher level are typically older and might be more likely to have already established a family.
The report also revealed that 486,107 persons from India, China, Nigeria, the United States and Pakistan migrated to the UK for study purposes at the end of September 2023.
The list of top 5 countries with international student dependents
India topped the list, followed by China, Nigeria, Pakistan and the United States respectively among the five countries mentioned.
However, out of the countries, Pakistan had the highest percentage increase, of up to 33 percent to 33,150 at the end of September 2023.
“Indian nationals in the year ending September 2023, a small increase of 5,804 (+5%) compared to the year ending September 2022 but their numbers are now nearly 5 times higher than in the year ending September 2019,” the report said.
“Indian nationals accounted for over one-quarter (27%) of all spoNigeria leads in UK's list of top 5 countries with highest number of foreign students’ dependentsnsored study grants to main applicants in the latest year.”
UK govt invites Nigerians to apply for 210 scholarship openings in 17 British universities
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that students from Nigeria and 14 other countries have been invited to apply for GREAT Scholarships ahead of the 2024-25 academic year.
The scholarship offers Nigerian students and others the opportunity to have £10,000 towards their tuition fees for a wide range of one-year taught postgraduate courses.
Legit.ng gathers that each scholarship is jointly funded by the UK government’s GREAT Britain Campaign and the British Council with participating UK higher education institutions.
Austria invites Nigerians to apply scholarship
In a related development, the Institute of Science and Technology Austria(ISTA) is offering Nigerians and other international students a lifetime opportunity to move and study in Europe in 2024.
According to ISTA, the 2024 call for PhD students is open for Bachelor's and Master's degree holders.
The application deadline is January 8, 2024 .
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Source: Legit.ng
