Sue Agazie, a Nigerian who was studying for a PhD at Newcastle University, will have the £13,285 she paid in fees reimbursed. She will also be paid £5,000 as compensation as an outcome of a complaint she filed.
Mrs. Agazie was treating stage five kidney failure. The compensation was for the “distress and inconvenience” she faced from the university authorities, who continued to demand she pay fees while she was treating stage five kidney failure.
After she ceased being on the PhD programme at Newcastle University, the university informed the Home Office, and she was asked to leave the United Kingdom by 20 July 2024.
She owed the university £2,000.00 for accommodation. Newcastle University has waived the rent arrears and refunded the £13,285 she paid for tuition after a review of her complaint.
Health and Financial Struggles
Agazie’s kidney disease requires regular monitoring and would place her on a waiting list for a transplant; these have deeply affected her ability to continue her studies and manage her finances.
A stage five Kidney failure indicates that the kidneys have suffered consequential damage and are no longer able to filter waste from your blood. This leads to nausea, pain, swelling, fatigue, etc., which would have led to Agazie’s lack of participation in school activities.
Despite her condition, she alleged that the university continued to demand tuition fee payments, which worsened her struggles, hence the compensation of £5000.
Immigration Status Not Yet Clear
Agazie is seeking to remain in the United Kingdom under compassionate medical care. She said she would be unable to take care of her kidney disease, which was diagnosed in September 2023, in Nigeria. She has expressed her fear that returning to Nigeria would worsen her condition due to “lack of advanced medical care.”.
It is not certain that the Home Office will grant her request. She lives in the United Kingdom with her husband and her 6-year-old son.
Her story raises awareness of how immigration, healthcare, and education policies intersect and affect the most vulnerable.
