Three Nigerian students are facing deportation as their names were removed from the enrollment list at Swansea University, United Kingdom, for paying fees late.
Omolade Olaitan, 27, Emmanuel Okohoboh, 26, and Paulette Ojogun, 30 were all removed from their respective courses at Swansea Uni’s School of Management because they paid their full course fees less than one day after the deadline.
The three former Swansea students told ITV Wales that their fee payments had been slightly delayed due to a banking crisis in Nigeria which led to the government attempting to create a new currency.
They claim they explained their situation to the university and showed evidence to ITV that the payments had been made to the university, albeit “hours late”.
The deadline for the payment of fees was March 27, 2023. Omolade Olaitan, one of the students, paid her fees on March 29.
She said: “On the 29th (March) I got an email from income tuition. They confirmed my payment and they told me that because the payment didn’t come in before the deadline, they can no longer allow me to enrol and that I should pack my bags and go back to my home country.”
Another student, Emmanuel Okohoboh, who got admission to start a master’s degree in Business Management, is also facing deportation.
Emmanuel said two parcels of land were sold to raise his fees. His words: “They are not fair, they are not compassionate, they are showing no signs of empathy. I had to sell my dad’s land and a piece of my own personal land to get the resources to come to Swansea University to study. Coming here and going through this situation has been mentally draining and frustrating for me.”
Paulette Ojogun, another student enrolled for a marketing management degree, also paid her fees after the deadline. She cried profusely in a video seen on the website of ITV.
Paulette lamented: “I am happy that I am here, I am happy that I am studying, so why would you take that away from me because my school fees came in late? I’ve explained everything to them, I sent emails, and they still would not give me a listening ear.”
Accodring to Legit.ng, Swansea University confirmed the development in a mail.
They said, “We are of course saddened by the difficulties facing some students and while we are not able to re-enrol them at this stage due to their UKVI status, we have offered advice and guidance, including on securing a refund and on deferring their study to a later start point.”
