Dr Manasvi M Kamat
A high-profile delegation of university vice-chancellors and academic heads from around 20 leading UK institutions are on a week-long visit to India. They are here hoping to identify new opportunities for the two-way exchange of staff and students as well as collaborative research. This visit is being hosted by the British Council, the UK government’s international organisation for educational and cultural exchange as part of the higher education focused bilateral programme ‘UK-India Education and Research Initiative’ (UKIERI).
Currently the universities in the UK are worried about the possible slowdown in student enrollments from EU member states in the wake of Brexit. The delegation visit is fallout of UK Department of Education’s post-Brexit ‘International Education Strategy’ to cement Britain’s leading role in the global market. The main aim is to look at adding more students from India and China in view of the possibility of no enrollment by EU students in the UK.
The UK is targeting more than 30 percent increase in international students from 4,60,000 to 6,00,000 by 2030, and an increase in the income generated from education exports to £35 billion. The current education exports of UK are estimated to be around £25 billion.
Strengthening and diversifying links with India are a priority for UK universities as Indians had traditionally preferred the country’s universities until 2011 when Theresa May, who was the Home Secretary, abolished the two-year post-study work visa. This decision immediately led to a 55 percent drop in Indian student numbers coming to Britain, from 51,218 in 2010-2011 to 22,757 in 2011-2012 and to 15,388 in 2017-2018 showing 70 percent drop compared to 2010-11. At its peak in 2010-11, up to 39,090 Indian students had enrolled in colleges and universities in the UK while a report by the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Students note that between 2010 and 2011 and 2016 and 2017, ‘the number of higher education students from India more than halved’.
The Indian community constitutes one of the most vibrant and a growing diaspora in the UK. The statistics reveal that Indian citizens got the fourth-highest, with total number of 1.45 million of UK visas of all nationalities in 2018 after Americans, Australians and Chinese. Currently India retained its place as the top country being granted Tier 2 (skilled work) visas with 56,322 granted in the past year, significantly more than any other country. The number of Tier 1 (exceptional talent) visas being issued to Indians also increased between July 2018 and June 2019 to 306 compared to 216 the year before. These figures underline the increasing strength of UK-India relationship, driving our shared prosperity and increasingly invaluable contribution of Indians be it business and academia in the UK.
Indians are now among the fastest-growing nationalities of foreign students in the UK along with the Chinese, Americans and Saudis. Britain is yet again becoming an attractive place for Indian students with a significant rise in the number of Indian students studying in the UK, according to latest quarterly report on Migration Statistics, published by the UK’s Office for National Statistics. In the period from April 2018 to March 2019, as many as 21,165 Indian students were granted Tier 4 (student) visas for the UK, up from 15,161 for the year ending March 2018 and 10705 study visas in 2016. This also means that the number of Indians studying in the UK has almost doubled in the last three years. A majority of Indian students prefer studies in business and administration, along with engineering and technology in the UK.
On a good note, the amount of financing support by UK universities is increasing substantially. In 2018-19, the UK government offered 480 scholarships worth almost £4.7 million to Indian students. UK universities also contribute over £10 million annually towards scholarships and bursaries, and offer opportunities for students to gain financial support in their studies. The UK currently offers post-study work option by requiring the undergraduate and master’s students to switch to the appropriate Tier 2 visa upon finding work after a full four months to find appropriate employment i.e. to get sponsored for a work permit, otherwise they must leave. The future also seems equally promising. According to the UK’s Future Border and Immigration System proposals set out in the Immigration White Paper published on December 19, 2018, new post-Brexit immigration proposals post 2021 will make it easier for Indian students to stay and work in the UK after completing studies in future. While students in undergraduate and postgraduate courses will have six months to remain in the UK after completing their studies to find a job, PhD students will get 12 months.
It may, however, be noted that the ‘proposed extension’ in visa permits under the post-Brexit proposals will not be enough as Australia, New Zealand and Canada offer far superior two-year post-study work options in comparison. Even in UK until 2012, international students had two years to find a job under post-study visa. Prospective Indian nationals vying for UK for further studies have therefore nothing to cheer unless things change. International students look for an extended work-visa regime as a means to recover the cost of education and pay off their educational loans. Studies in UK are otherwise are very expensive affair as international students pay up from two to five times what home students pay for the same education in the UK. It is hoped that during the week-long talks by the UK delegation in New Delhi and Hyderabad, the issues like student mobility, employability, research and internationalisation of higher education institutions will be on the agenda. The delegation will meet government bodies and university leaders in India to discuss current and future policies and identify areas of mutual interest.
The British organisation has recently called for applications for the UKIERI Study in India programme to support up to 200 UK students to study in India by March 2021. The current delegation visit will aim to further strengthen exchange between the Indian and UK higher education sectors. Later in September, senior leadership teams from the London School of Economics and University of Leeds will also be visiting India to identify opportunities for collaboration.
Let us expect a beginning of policy dialogue focusing on how both countries can work together to ensure that graduates are equipped for a changing world of employability.
