UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was once an international student. He was a Fullbright Scholar at Stanford University in the United States, where he pursued his MBA degree. He fatefully met his wife Akshata Murty at Stanford who was pursuing the same course. Paradoxically, Sunak is now mulling over the idea to bring down immigration numbers by limiting admissions to top universities as well as restricting visas for students' dependants.
According to the UK government, in the year ending September 2022, the total number of sponsored study visas granted (including dependants) was 592,710, more than double (+108%) the number in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, and 39% higher than the previous year. 80% of study visas were issued to main applicants and 20% to dependents.
UK home secretary Suella Braverman had previously complained about foreign students "bringing in family members who can piggyback onto their student visa" and "propping up, frankly, substandard courses in inadequate institutions".
Government data shows that in the year ending September 2022, one-fifth (20%) of sponsored study-related visas issued were to family members of students (116,321), compared to 6% (16,047) in 2019. Since 2019, both the total number of dependants and the proportion of all sponsored study-related visas granted to dependants have increased.
Sunak is allegedly considering curbs on foreign students taking "low quality" degrees and bringing dependents into the country, BBC reported quoting Downing Street said. The PM’s spokesman said the idea was being looked at after official figures showed net migration to the UK had climbed to a record half a million.
Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, Senior Fellow for South Asia, The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) told Asian Voice, “Before rushing to judgement, we need greater clarity on such a proposed action. How are "low quality" degrees to be defined? Which institutions provide such degrees? Are these institutions to be ‘named and shamed’? From what date will such a policy be implemented? Will foreign students currently in such institutions be able to complete their degrees? While any such policy is likely to be disappointing to a number of students (we will not know student numbers till the institutions are identified), it is institutions that are responsible for this, not the students. It is in the best interests of foreign students to apply and pay for admission to institutions that provide “higher quality degrees”. In the globalised competitive world of academic institutions, the “higher quality” the degree the better the prospect of employment and a higher starting salary. Why should foreign students, largely unaware of the varying credibility and quality of UK institutions, suffer in their prospective career from admission to “low quality” degree-providing UK institutions? In effect, if such a policy with greater clarity is revealed and implemented sensitively, it could serve the interests of a future generation of students seeking to apply to UK educational institutions.”
International students are our soft power
In his exclusive column for Asian Voice, Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE DL, Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, Co-chair for the APPG for International Students and President of UKCISA said that international students add hugely to UK universities by enriching the experience of our domestic students. In addition, they build generation-long links with their countries and there are more world leaders who have been educated at UK universities than in any other country in the world along with the USA. UK universities and our international students are one of the strongest elements of our soft power as a country. “If you exclude international students, the net migration figure comes down drastically and is nowhere near as alarming as it is being made out to be,” he wrote. (Read full column on P7)
Immigration important for the economy
However, a government migration adviser warned it would bankrupt many universities. Moreover, an adviser on immigration policy has warned that some universities could go bankrupt if there is a clampdown on so-called "low-quality" degrees.
In an interview on BBC Radio, Professor Brian Bell, the Chair of the UK’s Migration Advisory Committee, said that this move could “send many universities over the edge,” especially those in poorer regions.
Hersha Pandya, Executive Director of UK Partner Relations of M Square Media, an education management company, has also aired her concerns over this new development. “Firstly, it was the UK government that set a target of 600,000 international students which was met and delivered well in advance through the hard work of universities, agents, and third-party providers,” Pandya noted.
“Now, the UK government is once again putting international students under the spotlight when these students should never be included in the net migration statistics. The UK government must stop this yo-yo effect if it wishes to promote the country as the number one choice for international students,“ added.
Last week, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt insisted that immigration was required to boost growth, underscoring the need for "a long-term plan if we're going to bring down migration in a way that doesn't harm the economy." Hunt said that migration would be needed "for the years ahead - that will be very important for the economy."
In the 2020/21 school year, the number of international students at UK universities totalled 605,130, up by 48,505 or 8.71% from the previous year’s total of 556,625 students. International students paid a total of £9.95 billion in tuition fees for the school year 2020/21.
Scotland Deputy First Minister John Swinney described the proposals as "stupid" while Education Minister Jamie Hepburn warned that the proposal would be "deeply damaging to Scotland's world-class university sector." Moreover, the Scottish National Party has consistently praised the contribution made by foreign students and other migrants to Scotland.
Indian nationals had the second highest number of dependants
According to the latest data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), net migration to the UK rose from 173,000 in the year to June 2021, to 504,000 in the year to June 2022 – an increase of 331,000 post-Brexit.
International students were a large contributory factor to this spike, with Indians overtaking Chinese students as the largest cohort of student visas for the first time. Nigeria had the highest number of dependants (51,648) of sponsored study visa holders in September 2022, increasing from 1,586 in 2019. Indian nationals had the second highest number of dependants, increasing from 3,135 to 33,239. Visas issued for the top 5 nationalities for sponsored study dependants (Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) were over 100,000 for the year ending September 2022.
Looking at all sponsored study-related visa holders (including main applicants and their dependants), Nigeria saw a large increase in the proportion of visa holders who were dependants, from 19% in 2019 to 50% in the year ending September 2022. Indian nationals also saw an increase in their dependant proportion from 8% to 21%.
Students are not migrants
NISAU UK Chair Sanam Arora told The Indian Express, “Students who are in the UK temporarily, should not be counted as migrants.”
"We are hopeful that the government will ensure that there is no arbitrary definition of what counts as a ‘top’ university".
NISAU UK is calling for a “creative and innovative policy solution" that addresses the UK’s skills and labour shortages through its international graduates.
The Universities UK International (UUKi), which represents over 140 UK universities, also sounded a note of caution over any policy moves to cut down international student numbers. “Cutting international student numbers would run directly counter to the UK government’s strategy to welcome more students from around the world," UUKi Chief Executive Vivienne Stern told the press.
“International students make an enormous cultural and financial contribution to the UK. They help make our campuses and cities the vibrant, thought-provoking places they are known for being. They sustain jobs in towns and cities up and down the country," Vivienne Stern said.
"Beyond this, the financial contribution they make has been very significant for UK universities. Limiting international students would be an act of self-harm that would damage many parts of the UK," she added.
The National Union of Students (NUS) reportedly said that it would be "laughable" if the government made it harder for international students to study in the UK, given the country's skills shortage, accusing ministers of "starving" higher education of funds, while encouraging the exploitation of foreign students as "cash cows through astronomical fees and violent visa regimes".
International students bring much to society, university and the economy
Reacting to the news, Richard McCallum, Group CEO, of the UK India Business Council wrote, “It has recently been reported that the Government is considering introducing restrictions to foreign students entering the UK, as a means of controlling net migration. The UK India Business Council believes that this would be a retrograde step.
“Our universities sector is one of the nation’s greatest exporters. International students are critical to the academic and research strength the sector and essential to universities’ financial health. Levelling-up is a priority and for it to succeed, universities across the country must thrive in their communities. International students contribute an estimated net positive contribution of £26 billion per year to the UK economy, creating jobs and supporting growth in cities and towns across the country.
“Reducing their number would harm the economy in the short-, medium- and long-term.
New restrictions would also resurrect negative perceptions of the UK in India – a key strategic, business, security, and political ally – just as Indian students have become the largest cohort of international students in the UK and at a time when India is: a member of the UN Security Council; President of the G20; an increasingly influential actor in geopolitical matters – Russia/Ukraine, China, and broader security in Asia-Pacific; and, of course, the world’s 5th biggest economy with which the UK is currently negotiating an FTA.”
The CEO mentioned that Indians studying in the UK underpin the broader relationship, encapsulated in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreed by the Prime Ministers of the two countries in May 2021 and covering climate action, defence and security, healthcare, trade and investment and, importantly, the people-to-people connections that bring so much energy, dynamism, and trust to the bilateral partnership.
According to him, the UK needs a consistent student visa policy that both tackles abuse whilst also enabling managed growth in international student recruitment. For its part, India is currently implementing its own National Education Policy in which UK universities wish to participate.
“Education is a fundamental building block for the future relationship, and at a time when the UK seeks to establish new relationships with fast-growing economies such as India, and increasing geopolitical uncertainty, extending a warm, well-managed welcome to Indian students makes sound economic and strategic sense,” he said.
While PM Sunak has been a staunch supporter of Brexit, a report in the Telegraph argued that if older generations reject immigration on cultural grounds, and the young continue to suffer disproportionately from the economic knock-on effects, where does this leave the Conservative Party? “No amount of statistical manipulation can conceal the truth that whenever the British people have been consulted about immigration they have demanded greatly reduced numbers. The post-Brexit belief that the government had finally ‘taken back control’ has been destroyed by the ONS statistics, and immigration has once again risen to the second-most important issue for Conservative voters,” it said. That said, it is no secret that failing universities have become dependent on foreign students – fueling immigration.
Empty promises?
It was only recently when Sunak met India’s PM Narendra Modi in Bali and the two discussed ways to increase commercial linkages, raise the scope of security cooperation in the context of India’s defence reforms and make people-to-people ties even stronger. While this proposed plan by the UK PM has not been received well by the Indian student community, it is important to recollect that Indian students comprise the biggest percentage of International students, raking in net revenue of £30 billion in the UK economy. Under the new UK-India Young Professionals Scheme, the UK will offer 3,000 places annually to 18-30-year-old degree-educated Indian nationals to come to the UK to live and work in the UK for up to two years. It was reported that the scheme will be reciprocal. Will the UK fulfil the promise of reciprocation or in the garb of its immigration woes, international students will not benefit from UK’s top universities? Only time will tell.
