By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Teesside University UK has offered to provide assistance to Nigerian students with flight tickets back to their country after they were thrown off courses due to currency crisis that has hit their local currency Naira, affecting their ability to pay tuition fees.
Heritage Times HT reports that Nigeria is currently experiencing a record economic crisis in a generation, which has affected its nationals studying at some UK universities.
Inflation is about 34%, and the situation has escalated since inception of current administration, when subsidy of petroleum was removed.
The local currency has since depreciated by over 100% against the dollar in nearly a year when President Bola Tinubu was sworn-in.
Teesside University students of Nigerian origin were blocked from their studies and reported to the Home Office after the value of Nigeria’s naira plummeted, wiping out their savings.
BBC quoted some students of contemplating suicide as they accused the university of taking a “heartless” approach to those who fell into arrears as a consequence.
The situation worsened when Teesside University altered its payment plan from seven installments to three, making it even harder for students to manage their finances.
Following protests and the intervention of the Nigerian government, the university announced to the BBC that it has re-enrolled some affected students and established a travel fund to help those who needed to return home.
Despite this, one student criticized the offer, saying, “The wide-rippling effects of this are unmanageable and piling up.”
The university had previously withdrawn sponsorship for several students before reporting them to the Home Office after they fell into tuition fee arrears, a breach of visa sponsorship requirements.
This led to Home Office letters ordering the students to leave the UK.
A Teesside University spokesperson confirmed that some affected students could now resume their studies. “We are working with a small group who do need to return to their home country and are opening an international relief fund for this group only to offer additional financial support for these unexpected travel costs,” the spokesperson said. Students were given the option to complete their studies from Nigeria or return to the UK at a later date to resume them.
However, some students are now lodging legal appeals against the university’s actions. One student, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed distrust in the university’s offer, stating, “I was asked to return home, pay the balance remaining, and apply to return at a later date, but I don’t trust them now. I feel this is a way to escape responsibility and they may not let me come back.”
He continued, “If they did, it would cost me thousands to pay flights, visa fees, and NHS fees again. I’ve already spent so much coming here and now they want me to go back without any kind of certification to reflect my achievements. The whole aim of coming here was to study; we haven’t committed any kind of crime. There’s been no apology for the stress and trauma the university has put me through”.
