London Met and overseas students
Guest post by Pink Prosecco
As long as they are following a legitimate course of study, have the appropriate qualifications (including a good command of English of course) and have no criminal propensities – international students should be welcomed with open arms to the UK. As well as bringing important income to universities, they also bring different perspectives and experiences which enrich the student experience for all.
The Coalition government has sometimes seemed determined to do whatever it can to make life difficult for universities, and its grudging attitude towards foreign students is just one example of this trend:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9297575/Immigration-crackdown-will-damage-universities-PM-told.html
However it is not as yet clear, to me, what to make of the recent news that London Metropolitan University is no longer to be allowed to sponsor students from outside the UK.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19419395
If concerns over issues such as students taking on too much paid work or not having an appropriate level of English were raised six months ago and have not yet been addressed – perhaps the decision is not unreasonable, although it is clearly going to cause huge stress to many students who have done nothing wrong. However the fact that this story was leaked to the Sunday Times, before London Met itself was notified, reinforces suspicions that supporting the university, and its many students, is not a top priority for the government. However, that does not mean that London Met is beyond criticism, by any means.
Here’s a statement from London Met Unison:
http://www.londonmetunison.org.uk/2012/08/overseas-students-statement/
Roger McCarthy (@RF_McCarthy) said,
August 30, 2012 at 1:44 pm
As with everything else there is a hidden agenda here – higher education has metastasised over the last 30 years and the ruling class are no longer interested in paying for it (not that the the tax dodging bastards actually pay for anything – but in their Randian fantasies they imagine that they do and that is what matters).
But hiking up fees only creates a burgeoning problem of future student debt much of which will never be paid back – what they really need is for a bunch of universities to actually go bankrupt and for the number of student places offered to shrink significantly.
And how better to achieve this than to encourage them to maximise income from foreign students and then use the immigration system to pull the rug out from under them when it is far too late for them to change their recruitment strategy.
The coalition’s incompetence is I think a completely wrong narrative – these people are fucking geniuses who have already achieved far more in two years than Thatcher and Major did in their 18.
If only we had leaders with a fraction of their low cunning and unwavering ideological commitment to the class war.
Roger McCarthy (@RF_McCarthy) said,
August 30, 2012 at 1:47 pm
There is also this from the TUC’s usually very well informed economics blog:
http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2012/08/london-metropolitan-university-a-tale-of-two-tales/
Just saying said,
August 30, 2012 at 1:54 pm
Used to be the school you got was rated by your education class.And your intelegence rated from that.And your future deemed.
Has it changed.Are some smart arses making a living for their commas and dots.Who said our being should be understanding commas and dots.
Jim Denham said,
August 30, 2012 at 4:22 pm
How kind of you all to tactfully ignore the misspelling (now corrected) in the headline. This was my fault (due to pressure of time) and not Pink P’s.
Jimmy Glesga said,
August 30, 2012 at 10:29 pm
Find it strange though that the university Admin that take the initial entrance fee cannot then divulge figures of who has actually turned up. Not very good for the educated elite. What chance the working class of Britain getting in.
Jim Denham said,
August 31, 2012 at 12:48 pm
Very interesting commentary on this debacle:
http://andrewmcgettigan.org/2012/08/30/seriously-deficient-or-whither-london-met-or-wheres-willetts/