"It Has Been Heartbreaking”: Nigerian Students Ordered to Leave UK Over Default On Payment Plan
- This is not the best of times for some Nigerian students studying at Teesside University in the United Kingdom
- The Nigerian students have been ordered to leave the UK after defaulting on their tuition fee payment plan
- The Home Office said their UK student visas have been cancelled because they stopped studying at the university
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Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering basic and tertiary education in Nigeria and worldwide
Middleborough, United Kingdom - Several Nigerian students studying at Teesside University have been ordered to leave the UK after struggling to pay tuition fees on time.
The Middleborough-based university blocked the Nigerian students from their studies and reported them to the Home Office.
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The student could not meet up with their payment plan due to the value of Nigeria's naira which plummeted and wiped out their savings.
According to the BBC, a university spokesman said failure to pay tuition fees breached visa sponsorship requirements.
The Home Office said visa sponsorship decisions rested with the institution while Teesside University said it has no choice but to alert the Home Office.
The funds of the affected students to pay tuition fees and living expenses were significantly depleted as a result of the economic crisis back in Nigeria.
The university changing tuition fee payment plans from seven instalments to three also affected the Nigerian students.
Adenike Ibrahim, who spoke with BBC said she missed one payment and was then kicked off her course and reported to the Home Office.
The young mother of one added that it happened when she was about to hand in her dissertation at the end of her two years of study.
Ibrahim is among a group of students, 60 affected students who shared their names with the BBC.
The depressed Nigerian student said she didn’t know what was happening with her qualifications.
"I did default [on payments], but I'd already paid 90% of my tuition fees and I went to all of my classes."
Ibrahim added that:
"It has been heartbreaking for my son especially, he has been in so much distress since I told him,"
Affected Nigerian students have no right to appeal
In the letter sent to the affected student, the Home Office said they do not have a "right of appeal or administrative review against the decision".
The Home Office explained that their permission to enter the UK had been cancelled because they stopped studying at the university.
Nigerian students reportedly deregistered by UK universities
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that foreign students studying in the United Kingdom (UK), including Nigerians, were allegedly been deregistered by many universities and advised to leave the country.
This was disclosed in a post on X on Saturday, December 9, 2023, by Benjamin Kuti, the president of the Nigerians in UK Community (NIUK).
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Source: Legit.ng
