Is Britain Still 'GREAT'?

Rising Cost of Living, Fewer Jobs, Crippling Visa Sanctions – Has the UK Lost its Appeal as a Worthy Education Destination? Aparna Sundaresan Investigates

The United Kingdomd has long been a premier destination for Indian students for both undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Quality of education apart, the UK allowed international students (until recently) to stay back in the country for upto two years on a special work visa and seek employment.

However, in April this year, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) overhauled the student visa requirements and restrictions, eliminating several opportunities previously offered. This move has lead several prospective students to seriously question the worthiness of studying in the UK, especially master’s degrees, as those are only a year-long but still extremely expensive. And because students cannot stay back and work to make a part of the money to repay their loans, the UK is steadily losing its appeal.

Why the Rules are Stricter

An ongoing problem in the UK has been immigrants who abuse the visa system and rules, find loopholes and end up staying in the country permanently. According to the National Audit Office of the UK, about 50,000 people came to the UK on a student visa but went to work instead of studying. Fake universities are rampant, cheating genuine student applicants of their money, while sending out fake students to lowpaying jobs. The Home Office asserts that visa rules have become stricter to weed out such fake universities and fake students, not the genuine students who want to study and contribute to the British economy. The other purpose is, as Prime Minister David Cameron said, to bring down immigration “from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands”.
The stringent measures are already seeing results. In May this year, the British government reported that there was a 62 per cent drop in the number of student visa applications for the 2012-13 academic year. But the new visa rules have not met with approval in all quarters. Universities UK, the representative organisation for the UK’s universities, said that the UK seemed to be “putting up barriers to entry…and telling the world that it doesn’t welcome international students”. British newspaper The Guardian reported that some MPs called the new rules “poorly planned and ill thought-out”. However, Migration Watch, an independent, non-political body that monitors migration flow to and from Britain, sums up (ironically) the prevalent political mood – their website says that international students are of value to the UK “provided that they intend to return at the end of their studies… If students stay on in the UK they add to our population growth and the pressure on our public services”.

New Visa Rules

• The English language requirement now needs your English to be either at B1 or B2 level which will be tested by the university you are applying to. B1 tests intermediate English and B2 tests a slightly more advanced grasp of the language. At UK immigration, the officer might test your fluency of English and if you are not up to scratch, you will be denied entry into the UK.
• The university that offers you a place must now be a ‘highly trusted sponsor’ by the standards of UKBA. Under this rule, London Metropolitan University lost its license to accept international students because authorities found that its ‘students’ were working at jobs instead of studying.
• The maintenance funds (minimum amount of money in your bank account) have gone up. Now you must show at least £1,000 for each month of your course if you will be studying in inner London and £800 for each month of your course if you will be studying elsewhere in the country.
• The post-study work visa (PSW), available to international students with a British degree to work in the UK for two years, has been abolished. For most international students, this means not having the opportunity to make a part of the money they invested in their education, and being forced to return home almost immediately after their studies.

New Work Opportunities

• Graduate Entrepreneur visa scheme: Universities that sign up to the scheme will be able to act as your immigration sponsor once you complete your degree and want to develop ideas or entrepreneurial skills by setting up a business in the UK. Of course, your university has to be convinced in your abilities to sponsor you. Also, in the first year of its implementation, only 1,000 applicants will be awarded this visa.
• Tier 2 Temporary Worker visa scheme: You must have a job offer that pays at least £20,000 a year from an employer who is licensed to sponsor this work visa.

The State of British Affairs

• Tuition fees have increased by about 33% for international students in just two years. Although, according to ‘International Pricing Study: A snapshot of UK and key competitor country international student fees’, a 2011 report by the UK Higher Education International Unit, British tuition fees are cheaper than the US and Australia’s. However, the report also states that no country, except Germany, subsidises fees.
• The new visa rules make it difficult for students who have a compulsory yearlong work placement as part of their course, as the new rules do not make provisions for such students.
• Cost of living in the UK is still high and is getting higher due to a slowmoving economy.
• Jobs are scarce upon graduation. According to Eurostat, a European Commission statistics body, 7.9% of the UK labour force is unemployed, a large part of them local university graduates. And most British companies now do not sponsor work visas for international job applicants.

In Light of These Major Visa Changes and Prevailing Economic Conditions, We Gathered Opinions from Various People – Students, a Foreign Study Counsellor and a Policy Maker – If Studying in The UK is Still a Worthy Investment. This is What They Have to Say:

David Willetts – Minister of State for Universities and Science, Member of Parliament, UK
I want to make clear the attitude of the government. There is no limit on the number of legitimate students from overseas studying at British universities. They have to have the language skills and the academic training to benefit from Higher Education here. It is in everyone’s interest to maintain our high standards. The vast majority of international students are here legitimately, study hard, contribute to our economy and take nothing from us except a world class education. Where things are working at their best, they also make us more cosmopolitan, sustain links between our communities with heritage in other parts of the world and those places, and make the higher education offer more diverse than it otherwise would be. It is crucial that we sustain and develop these advantages.

Salonee Jaidhara – Third Year Student, The University of Warwick
I wanted quality education where I could choose modules instead of being forced to take a multitude of classes I had no interest in. Global exposure and diversity were also what I was looking for. UK seemed like a good bet with relatively stable markets and top education standards. I thought three years on, a focused degree would be a great way to launch my professional career.
But the PSW being scrapped has cut off 90% of my employment prospects. After receiving 29 rejection emails last year for a summer internship, I have lost all hope of working in London.
I would recommend the UK over India, but US is on the top of my list. UK education is substandard and universities are relying only on their reputation which will soon fail because of the development of educational institutes in Hong Kong and China.

Kausik Mitra – Education Advisor (India), The University of Sussex
There has been a drop in the number of students wanting to study in the UK after the closure of PSW. The recession has also not helped good students seeking jobs. However, the academically oriented student is not opting out, but candidates whose sole aim is to settle down in the UK are opting out. The PSW has been replaced by Tier 2 where a student needs to get a job of £20,000 per annum for him/her to automatically get a work permit under this scheme. What the UK government is trying to say is that they do not need further overseas students to work in McDonalds doing very ordinary jobs as they have a recession and their own folks can do it as well. They are more interested in overseas students working in areas commensurate to their fields which could have some real effect for their economy. The Higher Education industry is hurt due to the sharp drop in student numbers but a great deal of that could be attributed to loss of students in the private [fake] colleges.

Apurva Raghavan – Prospective UK Postgraduate Student
Personally, studying in the UK is more convenient for me because I plan to pursue a PhD degree. So, completing a master’s degree in the UK is quicker than most other countries. The UK is home to some of the most prestigious universities in the world with many top experts in several fields of study. In my view, a master’s degree there will be an intellectually and culturally stimulating experience. UK is definitely not a place for students who go with an intention to work after completing their degree since the economy is harsh and there are no jobs. But for those who want to study even beyond a master’s degree, the UK is definitely a good option.

 

Volume 2 Issue 6