Visa changes could cost UK

The government’s proposed changes to the student visa system could cause economic damage to the UK by destroying jobs in higher education and beyond, the head of Universities UK has warned.

Steve Smith, who is also vice-chancellor of the University of Exeter, spoke of his fears in an interview last week at the British Council’s Going Global conference in Hong Kong, where he was keen to tell the international audience that the UK was still “open for business” despite impending visa restrictions.

The coalition government is expected to announce its visa changes for students this week, implementing the Conservative Party’s manifesto commitment to cut immigration to the UK.

Professor Smith said UUK has had an official “embedded” in the UK Border Agency in a bid to ensure that the sector’s key points are not overlooked.

UUK believes it is vital to preserve the progression route for overseas students who enter the UK to study A levels or language courses at colleges and then stay on for university.

“I don’t think for a second that the government wants to damage UK higher education,” Professor Smith said. “But they do seem to think that higher education starts at university and [seem] not [to] understand the pathway point.”

On the potential impact of a sharp drop in student numbers caused by severe immigration restrictions, he added: “We think the impact could be really damaging to the UK economy. It is about jobs…Where else are growth and jobs coming from? They are not just academic and professional services jobs, but also jobs in the cities where the students are.”

Professor Smith’s message for delegates in his conference speech was more positive.

He said that “despite the headlines, the UK continues to welcome international students, and will do in increasing numbers”.

Joanna Newman, the new director of UUK’s International and Europe Unit, said the potential economic impact of the changes and the low rate of visa abuse by higher education students had not been communicated effectively.

The International and Europe Unit could be a channel for these messages, she said, adding that there should also be an emphasis on helping more UK students to study abroad.

have stayed in UK illegally

It calls on the UK Border Agency to do more to check that migrants leave the UK if they have no right to remain.

"The agency's points based system is not yet delivering its full potential for value for money. While it is well designed and adaptable, the underlying systems and management information are in need of improvement," audit office head Amyas Morse said.

"Customer services do not meet customer expectations and the agency cannot easily identify and follow up individuals whose visas have expired," he added.

The study's conclusions show that the agency has some contact details for an estimated 181,000 failed applicants but that it "cannot be sure how many have left the UK."

Poor information systems are also undermining the agency's ability to manage the risk that sponsors are failing to comply with immigration rules, the audit office study concludes.

The border agency rates 96 percent of its 22,000 sponsoring employers as compliant but is unable to say how many it has visited to confirm this, according to the study.

Immigration Minister Damian Green said the report shows exactly why reforms to the UK's immigration system are needed.

Radical reforms are already being introduced, including "the introduction of an annual limit on economic migrants, sweeping changes to the student visa system, and a shake-up of the family and settlement route," he said.

"We are also committed to reintroducing exit checks by 2015," Green said, adding: "Counting people in and out of the country will give us better control over those that overstay."

"We are determined to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands, and clamp down on immigration abuses."

India upset over UK visa rules

India has pr

otested against a proposed new UK student visa regime that could crush the dreams of tens of thousands of Indian students who gain admission to British universities each year. The UK is today th

e top destination for Indian students seeking higher education abroad. The human resour

ce development (HRD) ministry and the ministry of external affairs (MEA) have warned British authorities that the proposed new rules could severely reduce the number of Indian students going to the UK. The UK issued student visas to about 57,500 Indians last year, as opposed to about 32,000 by t

he US.

Concerns over three controversial rules in the proposed UK regime were communicated to the UK Border Agen

cy (UKBA) - the British authority in charge of visa and immigration - recently, top government officials have told HT .

Higher education

secretary Vibha Puri Das also met British High Commissioner Richard Stagg last week to register India's concerns, the sources said. China is also understood to have objected to the proposed new rules. The UK recently also independently unveiled a work-visa rule barring non-European Union students from working there for two years after graduating from a British university.

The proposed new student visa regime which India has objected to bars students except for courses offering a higher degree than already obtained by the student. This move would prevent an M.Tech, M.A. or M.Sc. from studying an MBA or any other master's programme in the UK, killing lateral movement of students across streams, the HRD ministry has told the UK.

The new rules also make it mandatory for foreign students to leave the UK after obtaining one degree before they can apply for another in the UK - a move that will prove financially burdensome for students, officials argued. Students keen on pursuing another course in the UK typically apply for the second programme while they are completing the programme for which they originally came to the UK.

A third new rule will put student visa applicants through a tougher English language test than at present - a move that government officials are describing as unjustified and discriminatory against students relatively weak at communicating in English.

UK universities set to lose $1.6bn from student visa cut

he UK's Higher Education Policy Institute, an independent thinktank, has joined a chorus of protest at government proposals to tackle illegal immigration by restricting student visas.

Last month Hepi said plans to limit student visas and raise the English language skills requirements of applicants would have "dire consequences" for universities.

The report's author, Professor Edward Acton, vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia, told the BBC that government proposals to reduce the number of students studying below degree level would not only cut fee income by about $1.6bn, but would also reduce subsequent undergraduate numbers.

He said more than 40% of international students at UK universities arrive via a pre-university pathway course, and he warned that 70% of recruits to these courses would be barred by the language requirement change.

The report says: "For recruitment from countries where English is not one of the official languages, combining academic preparation with intensive English language tuition from native speakers is essential.

"Sever the link and the damage inflicted on our universities will be severe."

Children in rural Poland falling behind in English

School-age students in rural areas of Poland are falling behind their urban counterparts in English language skills, a study comparing education outcomes across populations has revealed.

The survey, entitled English – Whose Opportunity?, was carried out by the Polish Forum for Development Initiatives and the European Fund for Rural Development.

It found that the English language exam scores of junior secondary school students in rural areas were 6.5 points lower than similar cohorts in larger towns and cities.

There was no significant difference in the performance of both groups in humanities and science tests. The report linked the poor performance to a lack of co-ordinated support for English language teaching in rural areas. It recommended introducing new teaching methods and for additional time to be allocated to English lessons.

Japan opens up to Indian teachers

A major trade agreement signed between Japan and India last month is likely to make it easier for English language teachers from India to work in Japan.

The pact covers trade in goods, services and investment and is expected to reduce tariffs in about 90% of trade between the two countries over the next 10 years.

In return for easing export of goods and services to India, Japan has agreed to liberalise the temporary movement of English language teachers, yoga practitioners, classical music performers and chefs.

Innovators take a bow at ELTons awards in London

Excellence in English language teaching was celebrated at the annual British Council awards for innovation, better known as the ELTons, held in London in February.

London-based language school United International College (UIC) was one of three recipients of the UK Award for Innovation, for its Communication Station resource incorporating radio and broadcast skills into lessons. The BBC picked up the other UK awards for two web-based learning resources, BBCe!, a bilingual radio show broadcast in Egypt, and Rinku's World, a multi-platform teaching resource for Bangladesh.

Abax ELT, based in Japan, won the Cambridge ESOL International Award for Innovation for its Fiction in Action: Whodunit. The Macmillan Education Award for Innovative Writing went to Simona Petrescu, from Romania, for her proposal for a course based on human resources.

Brian Abbs and Ingrid Freebairn were awarded the council's Lifetime Achievement award for their ground-breaking textbook series.

Glaswegian tops 'most attractive' English poll

Glaswegians have the most attractive accent for Japanese speakers of English, a study has revealed.

The Glasgow accent came out on top for social attractiveness to Japanese people learning to speak English, found a survey by Northumbria University, England.

Robert McKenzie, senior lecturer in sociolinguistics at the university, questioned more than 500 people to study how worldwide perceptions of the English language are changing.

The six accents used were from Alabama and Ohio in America, the Glasgow dialect, Scottish standard English, moderately accented Japanese English and heavily accented Japanese English.

Dr McKenzie said: "It seems to be that globalisation, and especially the resultant worldwide spread of English-language media, are influencing non-native perceptions of the qualities associated with various forms of spoken English."