British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, says the U.K. government’s new policy on the restriction of foreign student visas is aimed at managing the pressure on social services for scholars.
Montgomery, who said this during an interview with Newsmen in Abuja, explained that the policy was not targeted at discouraging Nigerian students studying in the U.K.
According to him, at the moment in the UK, Nigerians desiring to study in the U.K. have 97 per cent visa approval rate.
He urged Nigerians to see the new visa regime in the U.K. in a bigger context, a thing which he said is “really a positive for Nigeria and the United Kingdom”.
“Three years ago, there were 20,000 Nigerian students in British higher education institutions, and last year, the number increased to 127,000.
“So, we had a five-fold increase in the number of students from Nigeria coming to UK universities.
“We are delighted that UK universities continue to attract the best and brightest from Nigeria.