UK Should Plan to Recruit over 1 Million International Students

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According to the most recent figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the UK had a total of 605,130 non-UK enrolments in 2020-21, over a decade ahead of schedule, surpassing a 2019 aim to grow the number of foreign students "hosted in the UK" to 600,000 by 2030. Stakeholders have already urged that the UK should set a new aim of recruiting 1 million foreign students after recent numbers revealed it may have already surpassed a government-set goal, according to an event.

Due to the shifting dynamics of foreign student flows, the webinar on how to strengthen the UK's educational relations with India also heard that the country must be "extremely mindful of complacency" in its objectives. However, Lord Bilimoria, chancellor of the University of Birmingham, said at a webinar to commemorate the publication of a study on UK-India connections headed by former universities minister Lord Johnson of Marylebone, that given the progress made, the UK should "continue to expand" the aim.

Read more: UK-India Knowledge Partnership

"At the pace we're going, we should be aiming for a million," he added, noting that Australia's international enrolments peaked at 750,000. He stated that with "our capability...we should be up there ahead of them." New Zealand's education providers will be at a competitive disadvantage as a result of the country's border reopening strategy.

"In the meanwhile, our institutions look forward to welcoming back as many foreign students as possible in 2022 and benefiting from their vital presence in our communities, both on and off campus," Whelan said.

McPherson went on to say that the country's education providers will continue to incorporate the "innovation and variety" into online learning and course delivery from outside the country that they demonstrated during the epidemic into the country's offer in the future.

Sir Steve Smith, the UK government's foreign education advocate, told the webinar that reaching 600,000 enrolments was "unabashed excellent news" because it occurred "during the height of the epidemic," however he added that "clearly the objective was too low" because it was "reached nine years early."

"I believe we have to be extremely wary of complacency," he continued, partially because Australia and the United States "were in really challenging situations" with the pandemic last year and might see recruitment recover.

He also remarked that any future aim would have to reflect the changing nature of how foreign education was provided, perhaps aware that the target had been presented as students studying in the UK. "We must not underestimate the changes in worldwide higher education trends," he said, adding that he expects transnational education – in which courses are given overseas via techniques such as online learning or branch campuses – to develop dramatically. Meanwhile, Sir Steve said during the webinar that UK authorities were "discussing all the time" what new steps may be implemented to "de-risk" the student visa system from fraud and misuse.

When asked how to prevent visa fraud from harming the UK's reputation by webinar host Lord Johnson, he responded it was "a regular cause of discussion amongst pieces of UK government."

"At the moment, the threats appear to be less than they have been," Sir Steve added, "but certainly institutions will want to make sure they don't get caught up in this." "The most important thing is to make sure we don't erect hurdles that make other nations appear more appealing."

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