Foreign
UK universities face funding ‘crunch’ as foreign students go elsewhere
By Francesca Hangeior.
UK universities are among the most prestigious in the world, but visa restrictions mean they are now attracting fewer international students — taking a heavy toll on their finances.
The restrictions are compounding problems caused by the UK’s departure from the European Union four years’ ago.
Almost 760,000 foreign students were enrolled in British universities in 2022, making Britain the second most popular destination after the US, in a highly competitive market.
Most come from India, then China and Nigeria.
But last year, the number of student visas fell by 5 percent. Between July and September, student visa applications slumped 16 percent compared to the same period last year.
The decline is a major cause of concern for higher education institutions since foreign students pay far more in fees than British students.
Leo Xui, 20 years old and from China, began studying population and health sciences at University College London in September.
“It’s good for my career,” he said of enrolling abroad. Thinking ahead to when he will return to China, he added: “I will be able to apply for a foreign company.”
His fees for the academic year are £31,000 (37,200 euros). British students attending universities in England have paid a maximum of £9,250 since 2017.
The Labour government, elected in the summer, announced last week that the cap would rise to £9,535 from next year, a move welcomed by universities who have been calling for an increase for years.
Universities UK (UUK), which represents 141 British higher education institutions, warned at its conference in September that funding per student is at its lowest level since 2004.
It estimates that the £9,250 fee is worth less than £6,000 because of inflation, leading to deficits in teaching and research.
“We are all feeling the crunch,” UUK president Sally Mapstone told the conference.
Universities have welcomed more foreign students in a bid to fill budget gaps, to the point where many are financially dependent on them.
According to a parliamentary report, foreign students make up more than half the student body at London’s University of the Arts and Cranfield University, a science and engineering institute just north of the British capital.
The Financial Times reported earlier this year that some universities, including York, have lowered their admission criteria to attract more students from abroad.
But the previous Conservative government, ousted from power in July, complicated the universities’ task by imposing restrictions on student visas as it sought to reduce record levels of regular migration.
It forbade foreign students from bringing family members with them, with a few exceptions, and prevented them from switching to work visas while studying.
In the first four months of 2024, there were 30,000 fewer applications from overseas than in the same period in 2023, according to official statistics.
“These hard numbers confirm our fear that the previous government’s changes have made the UK a less attractive study destination,” said Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute think-tank.
– Overseas campuses –
Provost Ian Dunn of Coventry University, where more than a third of the 30,000 students are from overseas said the Tories’ “narrative was very destructive”.
The university had already been impacted by Brexit.
“We had 4,400 students from the European Union. Now we’re probably at 10 percent of that,” he said, adding that the situation was “difficult”.
A lecturer at another English university told AFP that teaching positions as well as courses had been cut.
“The drop in international students has dramatically worsened the crisis for us,” she said on condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to talk to the media.
“Some have preferred to go to Canada, Australia or the Netherlands, where courses are taught in English,” she added.
Coventry University may have found the answer by partnering with institutions overseas to open campuses in several countries, including Egypt, Morocco, India and China.
At the end of their studies, students may not have set foot in the UK but they still “obtain a degree from Coventry University”, said Dunn.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was extending a ceasefire with Iran to give more time for negotiations but would maintain a US naval blockade of the country’s ports.
Trump posted on social media that he would “extend the ceasefire” until Iran came up with a proposal to end the conflict. However, he “directed our military to continue the blockade.”
Trump’s ceasefire extension came hours before it was believed to be set to expire.
It also came as the White House said Vice President JD Vance would not be going to Pakistan for what had been expected to be a second round of peace talks.
“The trip to Pakistan will not be happening today. Any further updates on in-person meetings will be announced by the White House,” a White House official said in a statement.
The US president cast the breakdown in more talks as resulting from Iranian infighting, adding that Pakistan’s leaders had asked him to extend the truce.
“Based on the fact that the government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our attack on the country of Iran until their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump posted on his Truth Social site.
But the blockade of ports on Iran’s coast in the Strait of Hormuz will remain in place, Trump said, while the US military will “in all other respects, remain ready and able.”
The ceasefire, he said, will be extended “until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”
US federal prosecutors said Sunday an Iranian national was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly trafficking arms to Sudan on behalf of Tehran.
Shamim Mafi, 44, is charged with “brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran and sold to Sudan,” US Attorney Bill Essayli wrote in an X post.
A resident of the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, Mafi “is an Iranian national who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2016,” the prosecutor said.
Mafi was arrested Saturday and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
The post was accompanied by images of a woman presumed to be Mafi surrounded by federal agents at the airport, a large drone on a tarmac, a woman’s ID image and bundles of cash.
The United Nations recently warned that Sudan is at risk of slipping into “full-scale famine and collapse,” as the war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) enters its fourth year.
The UN Sudan chief, Denise Brown, told AFP Thursday that Sudan is facing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, and weapons from outside sources deserve part of the blame.
The UN has repeatedly called on foreign powers to stop fueling the war, but has not accused specific states.
On one side, the Sudanese army has been backed by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and deployed Turkish and Iranian-made drones.
However, most of the blame has been pointed at the United Arab Emirates, which denies evidence that it has funnelled arms to the RSF, who have been accused of genocide.
AFP
United States President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has agreed to hand over its remaining stockpile of enriched uranium and abandon ambitions for a nuclear weapon, describing negotiations as being on the verge of a major breakthrough.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday before departing for Las Vegas, Trump said: “We’re very close to making a deal with Iran. We had to make sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon… They’ve totally agreed to that. They’ve agreed to almost everything.”
He added that Iran had consented to return its enriched uranium, which he has repeatedly called “nuclear dust”, material believed to be buried deep underground following earlier U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
“They’ve agreed to give us back the nuclear dust,” Trump stated. He also suggested that the next round of talks could take place over the weekend and expressed uncertainty about whether the current fragile ceasefire would need extension.
The comments come amid efforts to end six weeks of conflict in the Middle East that has disrupted global energy supplies and raised fears over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for oil exports.
However, Iran has not publicly confirmed Trump’s assertions. Multiple reports indicate that Tehran has previously pushed back against similar claims, describing them as exaggerated.
Recent direct talks in Islamabad on April 11-12 collapsed without agreement, with core disputes remaining over the future of uranium enrichment inside Iran and the removal of existing stockpiles.
The White House has been discussing a possible second round of negotiations in Pakistan, with officials expressing optimism.
A U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in place, adding pressure on Tehran.
Analysts caution that any final deal would require strict verification mechanisms, especially given the deeply buried nature of the material in question.
For Nigeria and other oil-producing nations, progress toward de-escalation could help stabilise crude prices, which have spiked due to fears of prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
A lasting agreement might also open the door for sanctions relief on Iran, potentially shifting global energy dynamics.
Trump has maintained that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is a non-negotiable red line, while offering the prospect of broader regional stability in return for Iranian concessions.
No immediate reaction from Iranian officials was available as of press time. Further developments are expected in the coming days as diplomatic channels continue.
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