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| British minister wants more overseas students |
| Author：Science and Technology Division, UK Position：Science and Technology Division, UK |
| Article Source：Adapted from: THE 2nd June 2012 |
| Publish Date：2012.08.05 |
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David Willetts, the universities and science minister at an education conference has openly said that higher education was already a great British export industry and could be far bigger. He expects that the number of international students at UK universities to grow.
Growth is British government’s agenda. David stressed that British universities are well-regarded, well-run and properly audited and should use these great assets to attract more overseas students. Mr. Willetts is preparing to get international investors’ interest in funding this expansion when delivering a speech at Standford University later this month.
On the other hand, Home Office in the UK has been cracking down on international student visas. This may imply that Mr. Willetts is envisaging British universities expanding their provision for international students overseas through branch campuses or other forms of translational education. In March 2011 Theresa May, the home secretary, promised to cut the number of students entering the UK by 80,000 a year by setting tougher entrance requirements, such as English language abilities. In April 2012, the data from the Office for National Statistics showed that net migration totalled 252,000, still close to record levels in the year of September 2011. The government has pledged to reduce net migration to below 100,000 by 2015. Students made up the largest group of immigrants. Universities UK has called for student immigrants to be excluded from the official count.
David said that British universities are very keen to foster multi-lateral relationships, such as academic partnership, student exchange, system-to-system exchanges of ideas. He also suggested that the UK could share advice on areas including accreditation, quality assurance, building design and curriculum design.
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