British universities have sharply criticized government plans to place stricter limits on the number of foreign students in the country, describing the measures as “a hostile act,”
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British universities have sharply criticized government plans to place stricter limits on the number of foreign students in the country, describing the measures as “a hostile act,” The Guardian reports. Last year the British government proposed reforming the current immigration system with a range of measures that include reducing the number of people admitted to the country to study below degree level, introducing more-stringent English-language requirements, and limiting the ability of students to work and bring dependents with them.
Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, the organization that represents British vice chancellors, said in a written statement that “we do not think international students should be counted as migrants.”
As the official consultation period on the proposed legislation ended this week, the immigration minister, Damian Green, delivered a speech outlining the government’s priorities. With new figures showing graduates’ unemployment rates at the highest level in a decade, “to allow unfettered access to the jobs market for two years to anyone with a student visa from abroad is putting an unnecessary extra strain on our own graduates,” Mr. Green said, according to the Press Association. The Guardian reports that “it is estimated the measures will close the door on up to 120,000 students from outside Europe, out of the annual 300,000 student immigration program.”
