British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, on Sunday said that the number of dependents who accompany students from Nigeria to the United Kingdom (UK) rose from 1,500 to 52,000 between 2019 and 2022.

Montgomery made this known in a statement following his interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

“In the case of Nigeria, in 2019, before the Coronavirus pandemic, there were only 1,500 dependents being brought in from Nigeria, with those on study visas,” he said.

“In 2022, that figure had increased to 52,000 dependents so that’s a thirty fold increase in dependence.”

Montgomery said the increase in dependents accompanying students to the UK is not peculiar to Nigeria alone.

He added that it is also about all foreign students, as there was a similar increase among Indians coming to study in the UK.

Montgomery disclosed that those coming to the UK for doctorate degree can still bring their dependents.

However, for those coming to the UK with a study visa for an undergraduate degree, or short term master’s degree, he said the rules have been changed.

“People need to understand why this change was brought in, and it is a sensible change because we have a large higher education sector and most of these universities are in towns across the country,” he explained.

“There has been a surge recently, in demand for British education and I can give you the macro figures and there has also been a huge increase in foreign.”