Nigerians seeking admission to foreign universities spent a substantial $340.84 million on their applications between January and June 2023, as reported by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s data on foreign exchange transactions related to educational services.
The data reveals that in April 2023, the expenditure on foreign education amounted to $40.54 million, followed by $48.81 million in May 2023.
However, in June 2023, the expenses dropped significantly, with the bank reporting $32.61 million spent during that month.
Comparing this to the first quarter of 2023, where $218.88 million was spent, there was a notable decrease of $96.92 million, equivalent to a 44.28 percent decline.
Furthermore, the first quarter of 2023 performed poorly compared to the second quarter of 2022, with a decrease of $124.42 million, representing a 50.5 percent reduction.
Notably, the funds remitted to foreign academic institutions lacked significant reciprocation in the form of inflows from foreign sources into the local education sector.
Experts have suggested that students seeking to migrate may have been compelled to obtain dollars from Bureau De Change operators due to delays in banks processing their Form A requests.
Recent data from the Home Office of the United Kingdom revealed a remarkable 222.8 percent increase in study visas issued to Nigerians, with 65,929 visas granted as of June 2022, compared to 20,427 during the same period in 2021.
The Central Bank faces a backlog of accumulated forex demand on the official market, forcing individuals and businesses to turn to the black market for dollar transactions.
This situation is exacerbated by the declining investment and lower crude oil exports, which contribute to more than 90 percent of Nigeria’s export income.
In an earlier interview, Dr. Anderson Ezeibe, the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, emphasized that insufficient government investment in the education sector has adversely affected it.
Dilapidated infrastructure, unhappy lecturers and students, and a lack of access to quality equipment for practicals contribute to the production of inadequately educated graduates.
Professor Alabi Thomas, an educator at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, blamed government policies for driving the migration, stating that these policies continue to hamper the education sector.
