Britain planning to reduce the number of visas for overseas students, the education fraternity terms the move to be insensible

The UK Home Office is planning to reduce the number of visas approved for the overseas immigrants to nearly half of the existing number to 170,000 from the existing 300,000, as quoted by The Guardian.

However this being termed as being disappointing by many heads of the universities who have said that even talented students are already being disapproved study authorization on false grounds.

It is reported by the Universities UK, the association of the vice-chancellors in Britain, that overseas students contribute more than eleven billion pounds the economy of Britain.

One of the heads of the universities said on grounds of anonymity that the proposed slashing of student visas for overseas immigrants was insensible and added that economy is taking the back seat due to politics.

The Vice-chancellor of Cardiff University, Prof Colin Riordan was also of the similar views and said that the Home Office of UK apparently is keen on achieving the reduction in total migration figures as assured in their manifesto. But it is not interested in addressing the various issues faced by the natives in Britain due to immigration.

The reality is that overseas students or teaching fraternity are not the cause for any immigration related issues.

The UK Visas and Immigration has altered its approach to the processing of visas of late, as elaborated by another vice-chancellor in Britain. He added that students are being asked to reconsider their decision to immigrate to the UK for studies as the quality of education in the UK and their native country was similar. This was definitely disgraceful, he said.

Some students who gave evidence of financial stability were being questioned on the appropriateness of the chosen subject in monetary terms by the visa interview panel members. Many students are being asked some questions that would never be posed to native students.

It is quite obvious that all this is being done to make the students reconsider the immigration application for study clarified the Vice-chancellor.

The Vice-chancellor of Sheffield University, Sir Keith Burnett who was a part of the delegation that accompanied Theresa May to her India visit said that if the UK truly intended to open up to the world for trade and became a leader globally for free trade, it could be done only by welcoming students.

The ambiance in Britain must be friendly for overseas students and they must choose the UK for their study or jobs as a preferred choice, said Burnett. If the overseas students get even the minute clue that they are not welcome in the UK, they would opt to study in another destination in the globe, added Burnett.

Universities across Britain are quite apprehensive that the Home Office may depend on the framework for teaching excellence to decide on reducing the courses and universities that have a lower quality of education.

The Vice-chancellors have warned that this move would have some unprecedented results as even the globally accredited universities such as the Bristol and King’s College London or the London School of Economics would fail to score good points in the new rankings classified as bronze, silver, and gold.

The directive given by Rudd that the universities must adhere to the rules is being perceived as a hint that the UK Government would take tough action against the universities that have a high rate of refusal of visas. According to the current norms, universities that have more than 10% of visa refusal to immigrant students could lose their authorization to recruit overseas students.

Top sources in the universities have informed that Home Office was planning to reduce this to 7 or 5 percent. Several institutions will fail to meet this requirement if the bar was raised so high.