Access to quality higher education has been one of the appeals of the UK for international students, including and especially those from India, whose considerable tuition fees help subsidise the education costs of domestic students.
As a former banker and Chancellor of the Exchequer during the difficult years of the pandemic between 2020 to 2022, UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak might have been expected to have a healthy scepticism about the utility of blunt instruments. Unfortunately, in a make-or-break election year, it appears that Sunak has abandoned prudence for a counter-productive policy populism. His government’s recent consideration of action against the Graduate Route visa scheme for international students shows its flailing in the face of a multi-pronged crisis — of a declining economy and rising immigration. There is no doubt that a growing influx of people continues to be a challenge. This year alone, that figure has grown by 25 per cent in the UK over the same period last year. Sunak’s government sees curbing high migration figures, legal and illegal, as a priority area. However, its approach to fixing it might end up hurting its own citizens’ interests the most.
Access to quality higher education has been one of the appeals of the UK for international students, including and especially those from India, whose considerable tuition fees help subsidise the education costs of domestic students. In the post-Brexit, post-pandemic world, UK’s universities have also served as a route to recovery for its floundering economy. The post-study visas have been a crucial cog in that process. Launched in 2021, they allow students to remain in the UK for at least two years upon successful completion of a bachelor’s, post-graduate, or equivalent course. For those with PhDs or other doctoral qualifications, the stay is extended to three years, with an opportunity to pursue employment opportunities. Between 2021 and 2023, for instance, the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) found that Indians accounted for 89,200 visas or 42 per cent of the overall grants. Despite the Sunak government’s recent intent to restrict it only to the best and the brightest students over those who are “driven more by a desire for immigration rather than education”, MAC’s assessment found that there is no evidence of the visa being abused. On the contrary, experts, including members of Sunak’s own party, point out that it will exacerbate the financial distress of British universities and slow down the UK’s economic recovery.
This myopic conservatism, in fact, has shown up in a streak of bad policymaking. In April, the controversial Rwanda Bill that seeks to deport select asylum seekers to the African nation pending assessment for permanent resettlement, was passed. Reportedly, the British government spent nearly 300 million pounds on a scheme that is cruel and xenophobic. The deliberation over the Graduate Route visa shows a similar lack of engagement with complex issues and the consequences of a heavy-handed policy that plays to the anxieties and insecurities of some. On this front, Sunak’s government has repeatedly failed to step up to the task.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 22-05-2024 at 06:45 IST
