African Universities Not Listed For New UK Visa Scheme For The “Brightest And Best”
A new UK visa scheme aimed at attracting the “brightest and best” graduates from around the world excludes African universities from its list of institutions from which those degree holders can apply.
Some have complained that African talent is being overlooked; however, Africans who have attended the listed universities will be eligible to apply.
Alumni of top non-UK universities who graduated within the last five years will be eligible for the UK scheme.
Graduates will be eligible regardless of where they were born, and no job offer will be required to apply.
However, due to the way the list of top global universities was compiled, no African tertiary institution was included.
To be eligible, a student must have graduated from a university that was ranked in the top 50 of at least two of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings, or The Academic Ranking of World Universities.
The list includes 37 universities, the majority of which are in the United States, but some are also in Europe and Asia.
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Amina Ahmed El-Imam of Nigeria’s University of Ilorin told the magazine New Scientist that the ratings are based on criteria that favor universities that have been around for hundreds of years and have access to a lot of funding.
“As someone from Nigeria who did their PhD in Britain, it’s heartbreaking to see that there are still processes being put in place that inadvertently exclude Africans,” she said.
African Universities Not Listed For New UK Visa Scheme For The “Brightest And Best”