Johnny Baxter, British Deputy High Commissioner, says in the last 40 years, over 1,500 Nigerians have received the United Kingdom Government’s Chevening scholarship and 3,400 Nigerians have benefitted from Commonwealth scholarships.
Baxter noted that, in 2023, Nigerians were the second largest group of international students in the United Kingdom, adding that, for a long time, Nigeria had been in the top three position with China and India.
He made this known while making remarks on Thursday at a panel discussion organised by the British Deputy High Commission in collaboration with the University of Lagos.
This event, in commemoration of the International Day of Education 2025, had the theme, “Leveraging UK-Nigeria Educational Partnerships for Economic Growth.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the International Day of Education is marked annually on Jan. 24 in celebration of the role of education for peace and development.
The envoy said for many years, education had been one of the most significant towers connecting both countries, adding that it remained a key priority for the United Kingdom.
“What is so important is that we have students bringing their expertise into the UK system and vice-versa, but at the end, we have students with international experience coming back to contribute to Nigeria.
“Between 2017 and 2021, the number of Nigerian students in the UK rose from about 10,000 to now over 44,000, and that is a fantastic success.”
According to Baxter, education should be a global exchange as it is a privilege and luxury to study and make the best of it.
Speaking during the panel session, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development Services), University of Lagos, Prof. Ayodele Atsenuwa, urged students to embrace opportunities for growth.
According to her, to remain valuable, students should be willing to learn vastly, have excellence-driven mindsets and take advantage of opportunities to develop nonlinear skills.
“We should particularly network often and learn to value other people because you never can tell when you will need them.”
Also, Toki Mabogunje, Vice-Chair, Africa, International Chamber of Commerce World Chambers Federation, highlighted the benefits of studying in the United Kingdom and how it prepared students for global opportunities.
She said schooling in the United Kingdom had enabled many to step up and speak out as well as hear different perspectives and be more inclusive, tolerant and confident.
She said that studying in the United Kingdom made her more valuable in the job market.
Mabogunje urged academic institutions to make learning more exciting and create a more nurturing environment for students.