Nigerian students ordered to leave United Kingdom over inability to pay tuition fees due to high exchange rate

Several Nigerian students at Teesside University have been asked to leave the United Kingdom following a currency crisis back in Nigeria which has left them struggling to pay their tuition fees on time.

About 60 students experiencing the same situation shared their names with the BBC.

The university blocked them from their studies and reported to the Home Office after the value of the naira plummeted, wiping out their savings.

Difficulties experienced by the students were made worse as the university changed tuition fee payment plans from seven instalments to three.

A group of affected students protested on campus on Tuesday morning, calling on the university to “stop lying” to the government.

Adenike Ibrahim was close to handing in her dissertation at the end of two years of study when she missed one payment and was then kicked off her course and reported to the Home Office.

She subsequently paid the outstanding fees, but said she had not been re-enrolled and was told she must leave the country, along with her young son.

“I did default [on payments], but I’d already paid 90% of my tuition fees and I went to all of my classes,” she said.

“I called them and asked to reach an agreement, but they do not care what happens to their students.”

Esther Obigwe said she repeatedly tried to speak to the university about her financial struggles but received no response, until she too was blocked from her studies and received notice to leave the country.

“I attended all of my classes and seminars, I’m a hell of an active student,” she said.

“It is disheartening, I am now on antidepressants and being here alone, I have nobody to talk to.

“For over two months, I’ve barely eaten or slept and I don’t understand why this is being meted at us, we didn’t do anything wrong.”

Letters from the Home Office, seen by the BBC, offer a date by which the student must leave the country and say they do not have a “right of appeal or administrative review against the decision”.

The broadcaster said it learnt that some affected students have managed to pay off outstanding fees, but the university is now unable to intervene in the Home Office process.

A spokesman for the university said it was “aware of the challenging financial situation faced by some students” and had “actively offered bespoke payment plans where requested”. 

“This option has been taken up by many of our international students; however, some students have still defaulted on these revised payment plans,” the spokesman said.

In January, a Nigerian student Saheed Wahab died a day after arriving in the UK for his master’s programme at Teesside University.

Earlier, in November 2023, a Nigerian mother of two Joy Nsude was found dead in her residence in Hartlepool. She was said to be a student of international management at Teesside University.