June 26, 2022

Expert Call for Urgent Need for UK to Stop Slide in EU Students to UK

A According to the British Council's higher education and science lead for the EU region, the UK should think about providing scholarships for gifted students from the European Union who are unable to afford to attend UK universities as a result of Brexit.

“We are eager to explore with the government expanding the UK's scholarship programme for international students now that there is parity of fees for EU and other international students,” said Helen Etheridge, who assumed the role of assisting UK higher education through the choppy post-Brexit waters at the end of last year.

…there’s still plenty of interest in studying in the UK and we’re the number one choice for Greek students, but the UK is behind the US among Italian students looking to study abroad…

For gifted but less well-off students, particularly those from less developed EU nations in Central and South-Eastern Europe and for working-class students across the continent, Brexit has brought about a whole new set of challenges. The problem is not restricted to poor EU students, difficulty of navigating the red tape to obtain visas to study in the UK deters wealthier EU citizens from applying to UK universities as well.

Experts say that the UK should have scholarship schemes that cater to EU countries and target those scholarships for students really in need. The UK already has scholarship schemes for other non-EU nations.

Although the UK has no scheme for EU students, the British Council is helping refugees in Poland become more employable by offering English language lessons, said a source from the British Council.

To see how things can improve, the British Council has decided to carry out surveys in countries like Spain and Italy. Speaking to the media, a source from the British Council said,” There’s still plenty of interest in studying in the UK and we’re the number one choice for Greek students, but the UK is behind the US among Italian students looking to study abroad. Italians are also looking at Spain as an alternative, and while the UK remains very popular among Polish students, many are also looking at studying in Germany, which is next door and a cheaper option.”

With growing competition for a bigger slice of the study abroad market, the need to study in the UK is cooling, according to experts. New EU markets like Spain and the Netherlands are proving tough competition to the UK. To gain back lost ground, agents suggest that the UK government focus on changing its rules for EU students.

Posted in News and tagged News, UK, EU, European Union, UK Higher Education, British Council
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