Nigerian students feel “targeted” by the Westminster government’s policies restricting the rights of international students and are increasingly preferring Canada over the UK, according to a state government official.
Among a series of new policies, Westminster has barred international students from bringing dependants to the UK, unless they are on postgraduate research courses – a move that appears to affect Nigeria more than any other country.
Figures released earlier this year showed that the number of dependant visas granted to Nigerians had increased significantly year-on-year, meaning that there are now more Nigerian family members of students in the UK than students.
“The general impression is that we feel targeted,” Olanike Adeyemo, professor of health and medicine at the University of Ibadan, the country’s oldest institution, told Times Higher Education.
