Numerous universities in the United Kingdom are on the brink of financial deficit due to a significant decline in international students, attributed to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ban on bringing dependents into the country.
The Home Office of the United Kingdom recently announced the initiation of its policy prohibiting Nigerian students and other overseas students from bringing dependants via the study visa route. In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the Home Office emphasized that only postgraduate research or government-sponsored scholarship students would be exempt from the new regulations.
“We are fully committed to seeing a decisive cut in migration. From today, new overseas students will no longer be able to bring family members to the UK.
Postgraduate research or government-funded scholarships students will be exempt,” stated the Home Office. Reports from the Financial Times highlighted concerns raised by Vivienne Stern, the chief executive of Universities UK, representing over 140 universities.
Stern warned of a potential “serious overcorrection” in the sector due to immigration policies deterring international students from choosing the UK for their studies. Some elite universities, including York from the Russell Group, are reportedly easing entry requirements to maintain overseas student numbers.
With domestic tuition fees frozen for a decade, UK universities have increasingly relied on non-EU students, contributing nearly 20% to sector income. Indications suggest a significant drop in enrolments from key countries like Nigeria and India, with some sources estimating a more than one-third reduction.
Concerns were voiced regarding the impact of hostile government policies, causing a notable softening in the sector. Data from Enroly, a platform for managing university enrollment, revealed a 37% decrease in deposit payments compared to the previous year. A PwC analysis for UK universities warned of a perfect storm, combining falling international student numbers, frozen tuition fees, rising staff wage bills, and a softening in UK student numbers. The PwC analysis, based on financial returns for 70 UUK members, predicted that around 40% would be in deficit in 2023-24, decreasing to 19% by 2025-26.
However, critics, including former Department for Education official Paul Kett, challenged these numbers, considering them overly optimistic given the policy environment. Stern urged the government to address the risks faced by a sector contributing £71bn to the UK economy annually.
She proposed three interventions: uprating tuition fees in line with inflation, increasing government teaching grants, and stabilizing the international market by altering negative rhetoric and uncertainties over the graduate route.In response, Robert Halfon, higher education minister, stated, “We are fully focused on striking the right balance between acting decisively to tackle net migration, which we are clear is far too high, and attracting the brightest students to study at our universities.
“Credit : Punch News