In a report released at the end of January, it seems that some of the world’s top young students are now shunning the UK for elsewhere. Since the vote to leave the European Union and a general anti-immigration feeling, students from inside and outside the EU are looking elsewhere for their study abroad opportunities.
A Blow for the Government?
Since the EU Referendum, the government has been desperate to show the world that Britain remains open for business. The UK was once a prime destination for international students looking for education superior to that available in their own countries. In turn, the UK benefited from attracting the brightest and the best and taking advantage of the international skills that they provide.
In 2014-15, some 437,000 international students studied in the UK. This number has dropped in the last year. Theresa May also recently announced a bid to deliberately cut these numbers further in a bid to reduce immigration numbers. May had already introduced stricter visa controls as Home Secretary.
Figures Now Dropped after Stagnation
Student numbers had increased steadily by around 3-4% each year until the end of the first year of the coalition government. Since then, the number has stagnated – an issue that has not been a cause for concern. The reason for the change in 2012 is that non-EU students who completed their degrees were allowed to stay for a period not exceeding two years.
Now, universities are at loggerheads with the government over further proposed changes. The former needs to attract the best students from abroad because of the money and skills they bring in; their presence also helps to make British universities competitive on the world stage. The latter is desperate to appease a growing sense of anti-immigration born before the referendum but compounded by it.
Continued Strong Interest from Abroad
The Guardian reported ongoing discussions between the Indian and British governments in a bid to liberalise the student visa programme for students from that country. The UK is seen as one of the best places in the world to study ICT due to the range and quality of technology teaching. Many bright students from the Indian subcontinent have struggled to get relevant visas to study. In one case, a student from India could only apply for a dependent visa as his wife was on a PhD programme even though he himself was an ICT student.
The system for non-EU students to work in the UK is stricter than it has ever been. This is despite that even those calling for immigration controls in the UK do not object to highly-skilled people coming to live, study and work in the UK. Students must earn a salary of at least £20,800 – a salary that since the economic downturn has been difficult for graduates.