Amber Rudd, pictured, has ordered a major investigation into whether foreign students are boosting or hampering the prospects of their peers born in the UK
Amber Rudd has ordered a major investigation into whether an influx of foreign students is boosting or hampering the prospects of those born here.
The Home Secretary has asked an independent panel to carry out the most comprehensive assessment ever of foreign citizens studying in British universities.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) will examine the effect of both EU and non-EU students’ tuition fees, their spending and contribution to the local economy and place in the labour market.
It will also look at whether the number of foreign students has any efect on the ‘provision and quality of education provided to domestic students’.
The review will consider whether overseas funding boosts education quality for UK students – or whether the need to attract such funding drives down the number of places for people from Britain.
The review was being announced as the Home Office publishes the first data compiled from exit checks at the border, a system introduced in April 2015 to track the departure from Britain of more than 100million visitors.
Ministers rolled out the regime to build a more complete picture of whether people who enter the UK leave when their visas expire.
Ms Rudd’s request to the committee comes a month after a report revealed ministers do not know how many foreign students are returning home after completing their courses because of flaws in official data.
A survey used by the Government to estimate how many overseas students go home and how many stay is ‘potentially misleading’, the Office for Statistics regulation found.
Official figures have suggested that 110,000 immigrants a year are exploiting the system by staying in the UK after finishing their educations – with around one-third remaining in the UK illegally and moving into the black economy.
The Office for Statistics Regulation has condemned the quality of the data and said it should be downgraded to the status of an experimental figure.
Ms Rudd has asked the committee to report back by September next year. But she said the Government was committed to keeping the doors open to genuine students, while cracking down on abuse of the system.
She said: ‘There is no limit to the number of genuine international students who can come to the UK to study.
Official figures have suggested that 110,000 immigrants a year are exploiting the system by staying in the UK after finishing their educations (file picture)
‘We understand how important students from around the world are to our higher education sector, which is a key export for our country, and that’s why we want to have a robust and independent evidence base of their value and the impact they have.’
Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that in the year to December, some 132,000 foreign citizens received visas to study in the UK, but only 63,000 overseas students left – a difference of 69,000.
EU citizens are permitted to study here but the discrepancy has fuelled concerns about the extent to which non-EU citizens are able to exploit the controversial scheme after enrolling on courses at colleges or universities.
It comes as Cabinet ministers have warned Theresa May that the Government will never meet the Tory pledge to cut net migration to the ‘tens of thousands’ unless foreign students are removed from the numbers.
Failure to send overseas graduates home after they complete their studies adds to the pressure piled on public services.
The Prime Minister is facing a revolt over her refusal to countenance the change, which could slash net migration – the difference between those arriving in the UK and those leaving – by more than a third. The total in the year to December was 248,000.
Prime Minister Theresa May has been warned by her Cabinet to remove foreign students from the migration figures to help officially lower net migration
But Mrs May believes it would be duping the public by artificially deflating the total number of migrants arriving in Britain.
Britain is the second most popular destination for overseas students after the US. Since 2010, the Government has closed over 900 bogus colleges which were accused of ‘selling a back-door’ to the UK.
Universities and businesses have argued against any curbs on foreign students, claiming they contribute of £2.3billion annually to the British economy.
Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK, said: ‘We welcome the Government’s commitment to a detailed examination of the net benefits of international students.
‘This is an opportunity to build on the considerable evidence that shows that international students have a very positive impact on the UK economy and local communities.’