CBN reveals over $500m Forex paid for foreign education

Banks have released $533.48 million for foreign education through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The sum of the sums distributed between October 2022 and March 2023 was used to get the figure from the most recent statistical bulletin issued by the apex bank.

However, considering the recent unification of the exchange rate by the CBN, experts believe that the amount for the second quarter of 2023 sparring between April and June 2023 may be greater.

Also Read: WORLD BANK WARNS FG AGAINST BORROWING FROM CBN

The difference between the black market exchange rate and the official rate had been enormous before the unification.

The japa wave has also continued to put huge pressure on the naira as migrating students have been forced to source dollars from Bureau De Change operators owing to delays by banks to process respective Form A.

According to the CBN data, the sum of $96.19m was released in October 2022. There was an increase in November 2022 when a total of $125.29m was released for the same purpose.

In December 2022, the CBN noted that a sum of $93.12m was released. Further breakdown revealed that in January 2023, the sum of $91.45m was released for educational purposes.

In February 2023, there was a slight decrease in amount as only $74.03M was released. There was a slight decrease from that in March 2023 as the CBN revealed that only $53.40M was released.

Nigerians have continued to troop out in their numbers in pursuit of foreign academic qualifications.

Recent data released by the Home Office of the United Kingdom revealed that the number of study visas released to Nigerians increased by 222.8 per cent, with 65,929 issued as of June 2022 as against 20,427 during the same period in 2021.