Many universities in the United Kingdom are confronting financial challenges as the number of international students declines.
News About Nigeria gathered that this is attributed to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ban on bringing dependents into the country.
The policy, recently implemented by the Home Office, restricts Nigerian and other overseas students from bringing in dependents via the study visa route, with only postgraduate research or government-sponsored scholarship students exempt.
The Chief Executive of Universities UK, Vivienne Stern, expressed concerns about the sector facing a ‘serious overcorrection’ due to policies deterring international students.
Stern said that the potential consequences of the combination of negative rhetoric and policy changes suggesting that these factors have discouraged potential students from choosing the UK for their studies.
Top universities, including members of the elite Russell Group, are reportedly softening entry requirements to maintain the numbers of overseas students.
With UK universities relying on non-EU students for nearly 20% of sector income, the decline in international student numbers poses financial challenges.
Data indicates a sharp decline in enrollments, and will possibly fall by more than a third in key countries like Nigeria and India.
The government’s policies, including preventing international graduate students from bringing family members to the UK and reviewing the ‘graduate route’, have created uncertainty in the sector.
Stern said that the government needs to consider the potential risks to a sector that contributes £71 billion to the UK economy annually.
A PwC analysis for 70 Universities UK members in England and Northern Ireland found that around 40% are expected to be in deficit in 2023-24, falling to 19% by 2025-26.
However, Stern argued that these projections may be overly optimistic given the current policy environment.
She called for raising tuition fees in line with inflation, increasing government teaching grants, and stabilising the international market to address the challenges faced by universities.
Higher Education Minister Robert Halfon acknowledged the need to strike a balance between reducing net migration and attracting bright students to UK universities but did not address specific measures to address the concerns raised by Stern.
