Education visas are tightened and universities are laying off employees! 40% of UK universities may be in deficit
Data show that due to the British government's tightening of visa policies for international students, many British universities are currently affected in recruiting international students, and the deposits and tuition fees received by international students have fallen sharply. On Thursday local time, the British higher education regulator pointed out that 40% of British universities are expected to run a budget deficit this year.
Immigration has always been a major focus issue for British voters, but after the Sunak government tightened education-related visas in order to reduce the number of immigrants, we are now seeing the backlash of some policies on the higher education sector.
The British government has canceled the family accompanying visas for most British master's degree students, stipulating that teaching master's degree students will not be able to bring their families to the UK. In addition, the government has also raised the requirements for work visas for international students, raising the threshold for technical work visas from 26,200 pounds. As high as £38,700.
According to the Financial Times, this move has recently led financial companies such as HSBC, Deloitte and KPMG to withdraw some of the job offers they had issued to international students.
Enroly, an enrollment management platform focused on international students, conducted data analysis on 24 representative British universities. The results showed that as of May this year, international student deposits received by universities fell by 57% year-on-year. International students' deposits are a key indicator of future enrollments, and Enroly's CEO told the Financial Times that the sharp decline in deposits means the UK is becoming significantly less attractive as a study destination.
It should be noted that international student tuition fees are an important source of income for British universities. Starting in 2017, the UK has frozen the annual tuition fees for local undergraduates at 9,250 pounds, equivalent to about 84,000 yuan. The freeze is not affected by inflation and will last through the 2025-2026 school year. In comparison, international students typically pay two to three times more tuition than domestic students.
However, due to the decline in the number of international student applications, statistics from the British University and College Union show that more than 50 British higher education institutions have made layoffs or cut expenses.
On Thursday local time, the latest annual report from the Office of Student Affairs, the British higher education regulator, showed that British universities may face a funding crisis if they do not change their financing methods.
The OFS report pointed out that 40% of British universities are expected to run a budget deficit this year due to their over-reliance on international student tuition fees to fill the gap in falling domestic student tuition fees.
This chart shows that more than 80% of UK universities could fall into the red if international student numbers fall by two-thirds over the next few years compared to what universities predict.
The British government is currently also considering tightening the visas that allow foreign students to live and work in the UK for two years after graduation. The Russell Group, an alliance of prestigious British universities including 24 top universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, warned that the British government's visa restrictions have caused serious economic losses to British universities, and any further restrictions on visas will cause industry disruption. Unstable.
