Britain's universities watchdog has urged the government to lift visa restrictions on international students in a bid to save struggling institutions.
Office for Students interim chairman Sir David Behan said increasing tuition fees and the easing of visa regulations could help revive embattled universities.
He said “all options” should be on the table to fix the struggling sector and warned the “golden age of higher education” could be over.
The number of international students applying to British universities has fallen.
In January, visa restrictions were introduced to prevent most international students from bringing dependants to the UK and this is believed to have affected application numbers.
Nick Hillman, from the Higher Education Policy Institute think tank, told The National an international drop across the board has hit master's student numbers hardest but it is having a notable effect on all overseas applications.
“There has been a big drop in applications from overseas,” Mr Hillman said.
“It results from the changes to the rules on bringing dependants instituted in January 2024 as well as from a range of other factors, like Nigeria’s economic problems.”
The Migration Advisory Committee estimates the ban on dependants could lead to a fall of 120,000 in annual migration, and Home Office data shows 62,600 (39 per cent) fewer students and dependants applied for study visas in the first six months of 2024 than in the same period last year.
In May, most Russell Group universities reported a decline in international master's applications compared to May 2023, with an overall drop of 10 per cent for September 2024 starts.
“I think the resilience of the sector overall has been tested by a number of different forces … the global pandemic, the impact of leaving the European Union,” Sir David told The Sunday Times.
“There’s been unprecedented political change across our governments over the past few years, in terms of secretaries of state and continuity.
“We’ve had industrial action, the cost-of-living crisis, the increasing cost of pensions and decreasing number of international students, and then, finally, domestic undergraduate fees remaining frozen since 2012 … and what it’s meant is that the fiscal deficit for some organisations is significant.”
Sir David has called on universities to explore mergers or partnership arrangements with other institutions, amid fears some could be facing bankruptcy.
“It’s important that universities revise their medium-term financial strategies … they can’t just carry on,” he said.
Thousands of pupils received their A-level results on Thursday, when Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said any large increase in tuition fees in the next five years would be “unpalatable”.
“I do recognise the challenge and I hear that message from institutions as well, but I think that’s a really unpalatable thing to be considering,” she told Sky News.
“Not least because I know that lots of students across the country are already facing big challenges around the cost of living, housing costs, lots of students I speak to who are already working lots of jobs, extra hours, in order to pay for their studies.”
University leaders have been calling on the government to raise the annual tuition fee for domestic students in line with inflation to help institutions struggling financially.
The previous government raised the cap on university tuition fees in England to £9,000 ($11,650) a year in 2012 but it has been fixed at £9,250 since 2017.
Ms Phillipson said the government intends to “reform the system overall”.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The years Ramadan fell in May
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
DUBAI SEVENS 2018 DRAW
Gulf Men’s League
Pool A – Dubai Exiles, Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Sports City Eagles
Pool B – Jebel Ali Dragons, Abu Dhabi Saracens, Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Al Ain Amblers
Gulf Men’s Open
Pool A – Bahrain Firbolgs, Arabian Knights, Yalla Rugby, Muscat
Pool B – Amman Citadel, APB Dubai Sharks, Jebel Ali Dragons 2, Saudi Rugby
Pool C – Abu Dhabi Harlequins 2, Roberts Construction, Dubai Exiles 2
Pool D – Dubai Tigers, UAE Shaheen, Sharjah Wanderers, Amman Citadel 2
Gulf U19 Boys
Pool A – Deira International School, Dubai Hurricanes, British School Al Khubairat, Jumeirah English Speaking School B
Pool B – Dubai English Speaking College 2, Jumeirah College, Dubai College A, Abu Dhabi Harlequins 2
Pool C – Bahrain Colts, Al Yasmina School, DESC, DC B
Pool D – Al Ain Amblers, Repton Royals, Dubai Exiles, Gems World Academy Dubai
Pool E – JESS A, Abu Dhabi Sharks, Abu Dhabi Harlequins 1, EC
Gulf Women
Pool A – Kuwait Scorpions, Black Ruggers, Dubai Sports City Eagles, Dubai Hurricanes 2
Pool B – Emirates Firebirds, Sharjah Wanderers, RAK Rides, Beirut Aconites
Pool C – Dubai Hurricanes, Emirates Firebirds 2, Abu Dhabi Saracens, Transforma Panthers
Pool D – AUC Wolves, Dubai Hawks, Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Al Ain Amblers
Gulf U19 Girls
Pool A – Dubai Exiles, BSAK, DESC, Al Maha
Pool B – Arabian Knights, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Ain Amblers, Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
SRI LANKS ODI SQUAD
Perera (capt), Mendis, Gunathilaka, de Silva, Nissanka, Shanaka, Bandara, Hasaranga, Udana, Dananjaya, Dickwella, Chameera, Mendis, Fernando, Sandakan, Karunaratne, Fernando, Fernando.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
