LONDON // The British government announced yesterday limits on the number of non-EU students allowed into the UK, a measure that is expected to affect tens of thousands of young Indians.
Announcing new limits on work permits for foreigners, Theresa May, the home secretary, also outlined plans to slash the number of non-EU students coming to privately funded colleges and enrolling in courses that were below degree level.
In recent years, Britain has become the top foreign destination for Indian students with the number of visa applications reaching a record 57,500 this year - almost four times what it was in 2004-05.
Currently, more than 40,000 Indians are studying in the UK but only about 12,000 are enrolled in courses leading to degrees. Only China sends more students to the UK but almost all of those are in graduate or post-graduate courses.
There has been growing concern in Britain that the surge in student visa applications from the subcontinent has been driven by the wish of young Indians to emigrate to the UK by enrolling in courses at bogus colleges and then simply staying on in the country.
Other young Indians have been conned into paying thousands of pounds to study at these "chip shop" colleges only to find the courses on offer were of little value.
"There is a significant abuse of the system and we are getting tough on bogus colleges that dash hopes of young Indians, which is also bad for our reputation as an educational destination," David Willetts, the minister for universities and science, said during a trip to India this month.
The British government intends to make the eligibility criteria for visas much tougher for non-EU students. The current total of about 280,000 would need to be cut by 87,000 a year to meet the government's target of reducing net immigration to the UK to "tens of thousands" by 2014, according to the Migration Advisory Committee.
UK Border Agency officials have been monitoring the surge in student visa applications from India for some time and, in February, temporarily suspended the processing of all such applications from northern India, Nepal and Bangladesh following an unprecedented rise in numbers.
British officials said the system became overwhelmed after 13,500 applications from northern India were made in the last three months of 2009, compared with 1,800 during the corresponding period in 2008. The ban was relaxed after a month when the level of applications fell back.
At present, about 90,000 non-EU students attend private colleges to study for anything from basic high-school certificates to vocational qualifications.
According to the Home Office, investigations are being carried out into the legitimacy of 40 per cent of the 2,000 private colleges in Britain.
Mrs May has made it clear that students enrolling in non-university courses will bear the brunt of the crackdown announced yesterday.
"People might imagine that by students we mean people who come here for a few years to study at university and then go home - but that's not always the case," she said in a speech this month. "We estimate that nearly half of all students coming here from abroad are coming to study a course below degree level.
"We have to question whether these are the brightest and the best that Britain wants to attract - they may be, or they may not.
"Let me make clear: I will do nothing to prevent those coming here to study degree-level courses and I will protect our world-class academic institutions above and below degree level.
"The sheer number of students coming in, and the large proportion of total inward migration this represents, means we cannot delay in taking this necessary and decisive action."
Last year, an investigation of bogus colleges by The Times newspaper found that visas were given to Indian students, some of whom were illiterate, while others had enrolled on "hospitality management" courses believing that they would qualify them to work in hospitals.
Nevertheless, British universities are worried that the latest moves could limit their own ability to attract overseas students, particularly as they come just weeks after the government announced that tuition fees would be increased to a maximum of £9,000 (Dh52,700) a year in 2012, almost triple what they are now.
Christina Yan Zhang, international students' officer for the National Union of Students, said the UK had to compete with a growing number of EU countries that offered degree courses taught in English, as well as the rise of India and China as destinations for overseas study.
"Many other EU countries still offer free education to their students, as well as to students from other EU countries, which weakens the position of UK universities and means many students who would have come to the UK will choose more affordable options elsewhere," she said.
dsapsted@thenational.ae
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Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
