Failing U.K. universities rely on Indian student fees to cut deficit

As there is a cap on fees for U.K. students, the fees of foreign students, especially Indians, are increasingly helping universities bridge the gap

Updated - October 18, 2024 05:32 pm IST

The number of Indian students has surpassed that of China for the first time in 2022.

The number of Indian students has surpassed that of China for the first time in 2022.

Last academic year, about one third of the universities in the U.K. ran deficits. A major reason behind the financial crisis is that there is a fee cap for local students, which has barely increased in the last decade. Thus, the colleges are forced to increasingly rely on fees paid by foreign students, which have no cap.

Students from India form the largest share of such foreigners. The fees they pay helps subsidise the education of the local students in the U.K. This arrangement is acceptable as long as it is mutually beneficial for foreign students, that is, if foreign students secure well-paying jobs in the U.K. and are able to repay their loans. However, data show that many Indians are getting admission in lower-ranked universities.

Last year, the then U.K. Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, declared a crackdown on “low-quality” courses that “failed to deliver good outcomes” and limited student intake. Data show the effect of such courses on Indian students: the visas of a significant share of the students expire after they finish their course, which forces them to exit the U.K. instead of landing a job.

Chart 1 shows the share of universities in the U.K. that recorded a deficit over the years. In 2021-22, as many as 60% of the universities were in deficit. This came down to 33% in 2022-23, which was still almost double of what it was in 2015-16. Persistent deficit indicates that the universities are not generating funds to invest and innovate.

Chart 2 shows the share of foreign students (non-U.K., non European Union) in the total enrolment and their share in the total fees collected (in %). Both the share of foreign students and their share in total fees have steadily gone up over the years, pointing to an increasing reliance on them.

By 2022-23, 23.7% of the students were foreigners, while their share in fees was about 53%. Notably, while the share of foreign students increased by about 10% points between 2016-17 and 2022-23 (from about 14% to 24%), their share in fees increased by over 16% points (from about 37% to 53%). This shows that the burden on foreign students has increased further.

Chart 3 shows the annual inflow of new students, region/country-wise. With over 1.25 lakh entrants in 2022-23, the number of Indian students surpassed the number of students from China for the first time in at least two decades to constitute the highest share in the country. This means that the disproportionate financial burden on foreign students is borne mostly by Indians.

Chart 4 shows the university-wise number of Indian students enrolled in 2022-23. The bigger and darker the circle, the higher the number of Indians. The circles on the right are better ranked on The Guardian University Guide’s 2024 rankings.

Clearly, the number of Indians who joined universities in the bottom half of the rankings (49%) is higher than those who joined universities in the top half (41%). The rest 10% of Indians joined universities that were not ranked. Only 4% of Indians joined the universities in the top 10 ranks.

Chart 5 shows the immigration status of Indian students, five years after they entered the U.K. on the “study route”. Nearly 70% of the Indian students who arrived in 2018 found that their visas had expired five years later; only 24% got work visas and a few others stayed back to study further.

The share of students with expired visas was even higher at over 80% in the years before. With the option of getting a visa for an ‘indefinite leave to remain’ (right to live, work and study in the U.K. for as long as they like) also becoming scarce, the options for Indian students appear bleak.

sambavi.p@thehindu.co.in

vignesh.r@thehindu.co.in

Source: U.K.’s Higher Education Statistics Agency, the migrant journey report 2023 and The Guardian’s University Guide 2024

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