It’s not just Midlands universities and colleges that are losing out on their share of revenue from an estimated 45,000 fewer foreign students that are not be taking up their studies in the UK, the chairman of the Institute of Directors in the West Midlands has warned.
John Rider said: “There is a serious danger to the regional economy. There has been a 45,000 drop in the number of international students coming to study in the UK in the past year, and this must impact not only on the universities and colleges but also on the local economy.”
He stressed that he had been warning on this subject for some time.
“It is the actions of one Government department spilling over into another one’s patch. The concern over immigration is impacting upon business.
“The evidence used by the Government to reject the removal of students from the net migration target of below 100,000 a year is too weak to justify a policy with such profound implications for the education sector.” he said.
His warning came as the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee renewed its call on the Government to remove international students from its migration target while they are in the UK studying.
“MPs are right to feel frustrated by the Government’s inaction on student visas. Now that the overall net migration figures are falling, ministers should remove students from the target,” he said.
“It is good for our economy, our universities and our international trade links to have the world’s brightest people coming here to study, and it is deeply unwise to push them into the arms of our competitors.
“David Cameron recently sang the praises of Indian and Chinese students who want to come to Britain – it is high time he acted to ensure Government policy encourages them to do so.”
The Committee criticised the Government for responding to its recommendations only after an “extended delay”, adding that the response fell “short of the level of quality” expected from a Government Department.
In the Committee’s opinion, the evidence used by the Government to reject the removal of students from the net migration target of below 100,000 a year was “too weak to justify a policy with such profound implications” for the education sector.
The report released by the Committee today can be found at:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmbis/1015/101502.htm