Many Indians working in the UK voted for Brexit on June 23rd, hoping better job prospects and opportunities for migrants from India. However, now they are casting serious doubts over their own judgement, especially the possibility of a better and stronger relationship between India and the UK after Theresa May, the new Prime Minister of Britain, has allegedly turned hostile towards international students – many of who are from India.
The number of Indian first-year enrolments at UK universities in 2014/15 was 10,125 – a sharp fall by 10% from previous years. It was also hoped by the community that reducing pound rates against rupee would enable more Indian students to come and study in the UK – which now may seem impossible.
According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, the Prime Minister is reportedly preparing her new government to crack down on higher education institutions, claiming they have become an easy route into Britain for economic migrants. Government sources have said the Home Office and Department for Education will examine the student visa regime to see where criteria can be tightened.
In a confidential letter to other ministers, the PM also argued universities should “develop sustainable funding models that are not so dependent on international students”.
But she could have wrongly deported up to 50,000 international students after an English test cheating scam at one school was used to incriminate all who had sat the test.
The Upper Tribunal (Asylum and Immigration) ruled in March the then Home Secretary’s evidence suffered from “multiple frailties and shortcomings”.
Mostafa Rajaai, International Officer for the National Union of Students, told The Independent: “Thanks to Theresa May's approach to international students while she was in charge of the Home Office, we have witnessed, for the first time in 30 years, a drop in the number of international students coming to the UK. This is while the number of internationally mobile students has been rising year on year.
“While the inquiry into May's actions in response to the 'ETS scandal' is ongoing, she is preparing to devastate more lives by raising feelings of suspicion and distrust.
“As it stands, the British student visa regime is one of the toughest and least welcoming in the world. By tightening it further, the Higher Education sector will lose out on hundreds of thousands of international students choosing other countries over the UK.”
Among the actions being considered are preventing universities from marketing their courses as opportunities for students to work in Britain, tighter controls on so-called “Mickey Mouse” degrees at poor performing universities and further protocols to ensure foreign students return home after finishing their studies.
Despite Boris Johnson's (while he was the Mayor of London) plea to keep Indian students outside the Tory government net migration target, May is going to include them in it, as she plans to cut down the total figure by tens and thousands.
On the other hand the community suspects Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's allegation about India owing £4.4 million to Britain may have damaged the diplomatic relationship between the two countries.
Johnson has told the Parliament that India is on a long list of foreign missions who owe the country millions of pounds in unpaid bills. According to 2016 figures released by Transport for London (TfL), Indian diplomats allegedly owe them over £4.4mn in accumulated unpaid dues since 2003, most of which allegedly is congestion charge related payment (a payment collected from vehicles for using central London roads).
Johnson released the details as part of a written reply in the House of Commons last week, which include details of 11 serious offences committed by diplomats of nine missions (including India) who have avoided prosecution due to diplomatic immunity.
But the Indian High Commission in London has consistently maintained the stance that it does not owe any congestion charge for its vehicles using the zone in London.
