With the introduction of tougher English tests for non-EU students which is planned by the UK government, will affect many Indian students who look at the UK as the destination for the higher studies. With this new move by the UK government, it is likely that there will be further decrease in the number of Indian students who wish to visit the UK for the higher studies.
According to the sources report, Home Officials of the UK had recently held a workshop with the universities representatives for discussing the latest system for introducing the tough English language for the overseas students. The test will be even more tougher than the one being used in the countries like US and Australia. UK universities had already raised the concerns over the Home Secretary Theresa May’s tough stand on cap the number of foreign students.
According to the President of the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA), Karan Billmoria, the restrictions are illiterate economically and would damage the global influence of the UK. It is going to be a great blow for the universities who had always advocated the decrease in the restrictions. The chiefs of the UK universities are worried that the reputation, loss of talent and research faculties are suffering due to the policies of Theresa May regarding the foreign students.
He told that it was strange to see that the government of UK aiming to raise the restrictions on the foreign students as it is making tough for the students to pursue education in the UK.
Earlier in this year, the government of UK has already changed the regulations with regards to the Tier 4 students visas for preventing the non EU overseas students at the colleges which are funded by the public from working and also banning the extension of their Tier 4 visas for the college students who came for study in the UK. The students are banned from switching their visas to Tier 2 and Tier 5 in the UK and now needs to apply from outside of the UK.
The rules are a cause of concern among the sections in the government as the Indian student numbers are falling each year. In the previous year, around 12,000 student visas were granted to the Indian students by the High Commission of the UK.
Many Educationists and the experts fear that many Indian and Chinese students are becoming an non feasible option for studying in other countries like Australia and Canada that are becoming more attractive.
Billmoria said that the students from India make up second largest portion of the foreign students in the UK. And that the lessening numbers are representing a huge loss to the universities in the UK, who depend on the overseas talent that benefits the universities in the UK in many ways.
