Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2011-03-25

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 9780215557124

This report from the Home Affairs Select Committee cautions the Government against introducing measures which could damage the UK's thriving educational export sector. The Committee remains concerned that a number of the Government proposals could have serious unintended consequences. International students make up 10% of first degree students and over 40% of postgraduate students at UK universities. The international student market, estimated to be worth £40 billion to the UK economy is a significant growth market and the UK is the second most popular destination in the world for international students. The Committee's findings include: the importance of the Post-Study Work route in attracting students to the UK and disagrees with the Government proposal to close it; it suggests alternatives to the Government's proposals on language requirements, specifically a permanent change to the parameters of the student visitor visa so that it can be used as a viable route for all of those attending pre-degree programmes; it supports the Government's proposals to tighten the accreditation of language schools but is concerned that Government approval of the current accreditation bodies has lapsed. The Committee calls for a single streamlined accreditation system and agrees that any cap on student visas is unnecessary and undesirable; the Committee also notes that progress has been made on closing down bogus language schools and supports the Government's intention to crack down on bogus colleges and bogus students but it is not persuaded that students are migrants, as defined by the UN and suggests that students ought to be excluded from net migration numbers. The Committee also raises concerns that the data used in assessing migration figures are not fit for purpose and could inhibit effective policy making.