Wolverhampton University pleads with PM to stop curbs on foreign students after feeling "negative impact"
Wolverhampton University has called on all parties to scrap the Conservative Government's tough new student immigration regulations after their "negative impact" on the institution and city.
In January the Government banned family members of international students joining them in the UK and the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised yet tougher curbs on education immigration.
However, Wolverhampton University's long term business plan relies on an influx of 5,000 new international students over the next few years.
Professor Ebrahim Adia, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton, told the Express & Star the current regulations are already being felt.
He said: “There is no doubt that the Government’s new curbs on immigration are having a negative impact on the UK as a study destination, and could have a damaging impact on jobs, student opportunities and University finances, alongside wider impacts on local economies."
The Vice-Chancellor pointed to the positive impact of foreign students to Wolverhampton.
He said: “We are very proud that we attract students from 130 countries around the world to our University. Their presence on our campuses has a very positive impact on the University, the city and the region."
This week 26 universities from the North of England wrote a joint letter to the Prime Minister warning of dire consequences for their institutions and towns' economies if limits are introduced on foreign students.
Wolverhampton University backs their stance.
Professor Adia added: “We support calls from the Higher Education sector on all political parties in the run-up to a general election to reassure prospective international students that the UK remains open, and the graduate visa is here to stay.”
In March the Vice-Chancellor outlined the university's ambitious plans to increase revenue by £100m in five years by attracting 5,000 new foreign students plans to business leaders.
He said: “International students will be transformational for Wolverhampton. In our five-year financial plan we have factored in 5,000 new international students.
“We need to work with our partners to provide something special which will attract global
“We all know about Chinese students and what they bring but we have been looking across the world and have settled on Latin America. There is a massive demand.”
The University of Wolverhampton has climbed four places in a table ranking higher education establishments across the country – though it remains in the bottom 20.
The Complete University Guide, published this week, judges universities on metrics including entry standards, student satisfaction, research quality and graduate prospects.
Wolverhampton is ranked 113th this year, out of 130 universities – four places higher than last year. Generally speaking the university got an overall score of 52 per cent, but this score comes from multiple different factors.
After promising to curb immigration but numbers still remaining stubbornly high the Prime Minister announced he was looking into cutting student visas so only the "brightest and the best" foreign students were accepted to study in the UK.
However, his plan sparked a backlash within his own cabinet with Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary James Cleverly all said to be opposing the plan.