Due to the discussions and interests that trailed my last post and the questions that I have been asked so far, I have decided to share part of the research I did for my company with Nairalanders.

Last week thread - https://www.nairaland.com/2378290/5-things-should-considered-before

Background
The UK Government scrapped the Post Study Work (PSW) Visa that allows graduates to work and gain up to 2 years experience in the UK in 2012 (1). This not withstanding, the number of Nigerians travelling to study in the UK continues to increase arithmetically. Already, of the countries with most students in the UK, Nigeria ranked third after China and India. This year alone, the British Council projected that the number of Nigerians studying in the UK will increase to over 30,000; up from 18,000 recorded in 2012 (2). This number is way higher than the number of Nigerians studying in other countries like USA, Canada, and Australia or elsewhere. Generally, there is a rise in the number of Nigerians studying abroad, in fact, after Moroccans, Nigerians study abroad more than citizens of any other African country.

Research Question
Nevertheless, the question is why does UK continue to rank far above other destinations of study for Nigerians? In this research, I looked into the factors (in no particular order) why a seemingly unfriendly immigration policy and a glaring availability of options have not been able to affect the surge in the number of Nigerians travelling to the UK for higher education.

Internal Factors
These factors provide the foreign higher institutions the right pond to fish.
1) Admission gap - In 2013/14 session, out of 1,670,833 people that sat for JAMB, only 520,000 students got admission despite over 1 million students performing considerably well. This means over 1 million students of University age are left to be roaming about.
2) Inadequate number of Universities and Universities’ combined enrolment capacities - Despite the fact that the number of Universities in Nigeria increased from 51 in 2005 to 128 in 2013, the combined capacity still fall short of demand.
3) Unemployment Rate - Nigeria’s youth unemployment is around 60% implying millions of idle hands looking for opportunities and open to options including furthering their education. Even, of the 40% that are employed, many are not gainfully employed and will readily embrace further education as a way of escaping their underpaying jobs.
4) Corruption - Years of unchecked corruption have created increased number of super class Nigerians who can afford to send their children to school abroad.
5) Increased number of people in the upper middle class - Nigeria’s unevenly distributed economic boom has ensured an increase in the number of people in the upper middle class in some cities. This class can now afford to send their children to school abroad.

External Factors
These factors contribute to making UK the leading destination for Nigerian students going abroad.
6) Speed of Admission and Visa procedure - Unlike other countries, UK schools have Nigeria residence liaisons and agents who facilitate Admission and Visa procedure. You can decide you want to come and study in the UK and be in the classroom studying 3 months after the decision. This is hardly the case for any other first world country.
7) Reliability and speed - seven years of continuous University education can deliver a Bachelor’s Degree, a Masters Degree and a PhD to a student in the UK.
Family and friendship ties - Although the known number of Nigerians in the UK is recorded to be in hundreds of thousands, the Nigerian community; which includes British Nigerians, Nigerians with EU passport, illegal resident Nigerians, etc are said to be well over a million. Any relationship Nigerians at home has with these Nigerians serves as a catalyst for family members and friends choosing UK as a place to study.
9) Narrow Cultural Distance - Nigeria being a Uk’s formal colony implies broken language barrier unlike any other non English speaking country. Nigeria’s religions of Christianity and Islam are also widely practiced even by Nigerians in the UK. Nigerian foods and restaurants are in abundance in the UK. The elementary system of education is also very similar.
10) Proximity - Of all primarily English speaking countries where Nigerians can arrive and integrate immediately upon arrival, UK has the best proximity (6 hours by flight).
11) Education Quality - The quality of UK education and or the perceived quality of UK education still continues to draw students in their thousands.
12) The English football league - The premiership league and other English football leagues are a great export to Nigeria. Prospective Nigerian students are already familiar with names and knowledge of most English cities with established football clubs; hence any school existing in any of such cities does not need introduction to the student.
The list of the factors seems in exhaustive but I will stop here.
Thank you.

If you like this, you can expect another insightful education or career related post next week.

References and Bibliography
1) Immigration Matters, 2012. http://immigrationmatters.co.uk/post-study-work-visa-to-be-abolished.html.
2) World Education News and Reviews, 2013. http://wenr.wes.org/2013/07/an-overview-of-education-in-nigeria/.
3) UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2015. http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/global-education-digest.aspx.
4) Education for All Global Monitoring Report, 2015. http://en.unesco.org/gem-report/reports/2012-skills/.