The UK PM Rishi Sunak said on November 24, in response to the highest ever net migration figures, that the government will look at the issue of overseas students studying “low-quality degrees”, which has prompted an outcry from the sector.
International students should not be included in the net migration estimates at all, according to a statement issued by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Students on November 25, this is because they provide a net benefit to the nation.
Nobody in the discussion of net headline migration figures is worried about overseas students, according to co-chair Paul Blomfield MP.He said, “They deliver approximately £30 billion a year to the UK economy, supporting jobs and businesses…including those that the government claims it wants to level up.
Research suggests that international students will continue to contribute over £25 billion to the UK economy in 2022, up from their contribution of £28.8 billion in 2021. In a 2018 inquiry, the APPG previously voiced concerns about incorporating overseas students in the data, but these went unanswered.
Additionally, it emphasizes that, according to exit checks, an overwhelming 98% of non-EU students who were attending UK universities depart the nation “on time and before their visa expires.”
In response to the proposal to reduce the number of international students, Universities Scotland stated that these students produce a net contribution of £1.94 billion to the local economy and that their variety offers “huge benefits to both our students and the community.”
Since the vast majority of international students are not immigrants, many of our rival nations do not include them when calculating net migration estimates, according to co-chair of the APPG Lord Bilimoria. Blomfield pleaded with the prime minister and the home secretary to reconsider and scrap the antiquated idea.