Government student visa plans will damage UK reputation on world stage, warns UCU

The union said the government had ignored advice from the academic community and even the home affairs select committee, which last week cautioned the government against introducing measures which could damage the UK's thriving educational export sector. More on the select committee's report can be found here. 

UCU said plans to slash the number of student visas issued each year by up to 80,000 had everything to do with scoring cheap political points at home and absolutely no regard for the damage they would to do to the country's reputation on the world stage.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'The government's student visa plans are short-sighted and risk sending out the worrying message that the UK is closed for business. The UK remains one of the most popular destinations for foreign students because of our proud international reputation for excellence. However, we cannot trade on reputation alone and we need to be able to continue to offer places to the world's brightest and best.

'UK higher education is already suffering from enormous cuts, the last thing we need are knee-jerk populist policies that will deny our universities billions of pounds. Tough-sounding immigration policies may play well to a domestic audience, but they risk damaging our global reputation for academic freedom and excellence. The government should have listened to both the academic community and the home affairs select committee instead of making such rash judgements.'