Recall that UK Home Office, on Tuesday, also announced that
foreign students would be stopped from switching from the student visa route to
a work visa until their studies have been completed.
But, reacting to the immigration policy at parliament on
Wednesday, Monaghan said the students and their families made valuable
contributions to the UK, contributing £40 billion to the economy in 2022.
According to the UK lawmaker, the international students
enrich the UK society as they have skills, which have proved useful across key
sectors.
Monaghan said, “With labour shortages in healthcare, STEM,
IT, to name a few, how can the minister fail to recognise that this policy will
aggravate these? I’d like to ask the minister, what assessments have been
carried out on the economic impact of this change on the university sector?
“The reality is that many students who come into the UK look
beyond their studies and want their families to be part of their experience.
“Without a way for overseas students to bring their
families, many will opt to go elsewhere and any drop in international students
numbers will cause further harm to universities that are already facing
financial difficulties.”
Meanwhile, the UK universities, have also kicked against the
country’s new immigration rules.
The Universities UK International (UUK), a body of
universities, had said the move was a threat to the country’s global success as
a top destination for international talent.
The Director, UUK, Jamie Arrowsmith said, “International
students make an invaluable contribution to our universities and to the UK’s
economy. Building on the government’s explicit commitments and ambitions, which
were clearly set out in the international education strategy, we have seen
significant growth since 2019.”
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