British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, says the UK 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 the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, explained that the policy was not targeted at discouraging Nigerian students studying in the UK.
He urged Nigerians to see the new visa regime in the UK in a bigger context, which he said is “really a positive for Nigeria and the United Kingdom.”
According to him, at the moment, Nigerians desiring to study in the UK have a 97 per cent visa approval rate.
“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…