17 Jul How could Brexit Impact International Students?
Tnternational students contribute to more than £20 billion to the economy of the United Kingdom. The Brexit referendum has not only influenced the citizens of the UK and Europe but also impacted the dreams of numerous students who were aiming to study in one of the universities in the UK. Although the exact impact that Brexit will have on the international students is still unclear, the negotiations happening between the European Union and the United Kingdom, the European students studying in the UK will be treated at par with the non-EU students. This would mean an increase in the tuition fee. If the UK continues to operate as a single market with the EU, there will be no impact on the students belonging to the EU. The situation will most likely remain the same as the rest of the international students.
The tuition fee and the financial aid structure will become clear only after March 2019 but for all the students belonging to EU who is big and their session from the academic year 2017-18, it is assured that the financial aid received by them and tuition fee paid by them will continue to remain the same. Brexit will also lead to the loss of funding received by the UK universities from the EU. Currently, about 16% of the researchers in the UK universities come from EU. As per a survey conducted in 2017, 75% of these students plan to return to Continental Europe after Brexit. This indicates a massive drop in the partnership between the Universities and the resource Institutions of UK and the EU. UK is also expected to face a decline in the incoming talent in their educational institutions and the lack of funding received from the EU universities will also prevent the completion of numerous projects that are currently underway.
About 19% of the students pursuing higher education in the UK universities belong to the international countries. Brexit has guaranteed all the international students the access to the student finance system. This is going to increase the number of applications received by the UK universities. With the USA declining the applications of numerous Mexican students, the number of applications to the UK universities from these students is expected to increase. The precise terms set for the departure of the UK from the EU have already been set and most of these trends are similar to the ones predicted after the econometric assessment of the UK education system. The continued depreciation of pound sterling may come to the rescue for the UK universities and may contribute to an increase of about 20,000 students. But Brexit will lead to an estimated loss of 31,000 students for the UK. The UK government has been emphasizing on ‘taking back control’ of their borders followed by the Brexit which may impact their immigration policies. These intentions of the government may prove to be a barrier to the inflow of the international students to the higher education Institutions of the United Kingdom.
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