Soldato
- Joined
- 12 Sep 2012
- Posts
- 11,698
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- Surrey
https://www.theguardian.com/educati...national-student-visa-tougher-rules?CMP=fb_gu
So the media rumour mill has quoted aims at reducing foreign student numbers from 300,000 down to 170,000 at least. This goes alongside what was said at the conservative conference in October and was dressed up as targeting less suitable students despite all of them adhering to pretty strict standard to be granted visa, either financially if self funded or academically if not. Scary stuff!
I studied and worked in the sciences, where we HEAVILY rely on foreign students to not just fund our work and course but participate in the research that we slap our British University label on and benefit from the worldwide prestige it gives.
Foreign students pay silly money to be here and it is not an exaggeration to say they subsidise the costs for other students and also spend local area just being there. They pay their way so much so that we are not 'running out of places' but rather they fund universities enough to allow these courses to take so many local applicants at our reduced costs.
I am confident in saying that British Physics research would certainly be a considerable notch lower on the belt if we had followed such anti-foreign student policy all these years.
What benefits will we achieve with moves like these?
So the media rumour mill has quoted aims at reducing foreign student numbers from 300,000 down to 170,000 at least. This goes alongside what was said at the conservative conference in October and was dressed up as targeting less suitable students despite all of them adhering to pretty strict standard to be granted visa, either financially if self funded or academically if not. Scary stuff!
• An applicant was deemed not to be genuine because he did not know the university library opening times.
• Another was excluded for not knowing the name of the vice-chancellor at his university – a test many would-be domestic students would certainly fail.
• One applicant was refused a visa for “falling below the amount specified in a bank account by a couple of pounds on one day out of the 90-day period, even though his parents had huge funds and their accounts were also submitted”.
I studied and worked in the sciences, where we HEAVILY rely on foreign students to not just fund our work and course but participate in the research that we slap our British University label on and benefit from the worldwide prestige it gives.
Foreign students pay silly money to be here and it is not an exaggeration to say they subsidise the costs for other students and also spend local area just being there. They pay their way so much so that we are not 'running out of places' but rather they fund universities enough to allow these courses to take so many local applicants at our reduced costs.
I am confident in saying that British Physics research would certainly be a considerable notch lower on the belt if we had followed such anti-foreign student policy all these years.
What benefits will we achieve with moves like these?