UK international students debate continues with new complementary reports
Two complementary reports by the think tank Social Market Foundation suggest that there is an important need for discussion on how the universities will handle their funds while the government is trying to curb the number of international students.
Study in UK: The cross-party think tank Social Market Foundation has released two complementary reports including Crazy for you and Too much of a good thing about the UK universities' reliance on international students.
"The debate around international students has taken a more negative tone both in the UK and in other major host countries over the past year. This report sets out the competing priorities around the policies – which lie at the intersection of higher education, immigration and trade – governing questions of the UK’s offer to and admission of international students," said Jonathan Thomas, the author of Crazy for you: What just happened, and where next, for the UK’s switchback policy on international students?
"International students benefit the UK, but the speed of the increase in their numbers since 2019 has diluted these benefits and created pressures on student housing. This briefing lays out how to manage their numbers to reduce these pressures without creating a financial stability risk for the higher education sector," said Zeki Dolen, the author of Too much of a good thing? International students and the financial stability of English higher education.
Crazy for you report details
The report says that the public concern about foreign students should not be ignored, the country has suffered pressure around housing due to the increased number of international students similar to Canada and Australia, and the work done by the dependents of the students who come to the UK is not recorded properly and hence it is not clear what is their contribution in economic.
"The review of the graduate route was merited in light of the number of concerns around the route, and shows the worth of the Migration Advisory Committee in producing new evidence. The higher education sector’s strategy around international students is high reward, but high risk, with the potential to dismiss and misrepresent others’ concerns rather than allaying them," stated the report.
Too much of a good thing report details
It advises putting a cap on the number of international students coming to the UK, the universities should be compensated by the government for lost income due to a decline in international student fees, and the International Education Strategy should be updated with new targets for diversification of foreign student flows and visa charges and salary thresholds should be reformed so that the country's attractiveness to study abroad aspirants remains unchanged.
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