International students, particularly EU students, felt like they’re no more welcomed in the UK, following Brexit. But, the British residents show no tendency of having a different overlook over international students. In fact, as a survey showed, most of them want international students to stay in the country and even rise in number.
As of 30 September 2017, the online survey accepted 2,253 positive responses. The survey aims to get 4,000 responses in early 2018, to publish a detailed report in autumn 2018.
Up to this date, participators are mostly expressed to think of international students as an asset rather than migrants.
They had to answer this question:
Would you prefer the number of international students coming to the UK to be increased, reduced or remain about the same?
More than half of them (53 %) said that would like the number of foreign students to remain the same. One-third of them said they would like the number to increase, leaving way behind those who wanted to reduce the influx of international students by just 10 percent. The rest 5 percent had no opinion.
They voiced their concerns about the fraudulent universities that are used as an illegal migration hub for international students.
So to say citizens of the UK don’t see any problem with students coming from outside the country, as long as they came with a purpose of taking a degree and turning back in their homeland. Some even noted that international students keep some towns alive with their presence and their contribution to the local economy.
Their concerns rely on how resident students are treated. They fear their children will have to compete with foreign students to entry the best British universities. Native students, they pointed out, are very often faced with unfair competition from foreign students when applying for an admission.
They believe universities are giving an advantage to the foreign students because they supply them with a lot more money than resident students. In some local areas, they go to such an extent they say universities are “not interested in local students” at all.
The UK is the second most popular destination for international students enumerating more than a million of them. Educational providers in the UK anticipated that political movements in the country would damage their position in international education. They feared residents would think of foreign students as migrants and they wouldn’t feel welcomed any more.
This survey may serve to the UK’s institutions to promote their country as a charming destination for international students.
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