‘6% Levy on Foreign Students May Drive Away Indian Talent’

Student unions, the universities, and education officials in the UK have strongly opposed the Labour Party proposal to introduce a levy on international students on the grounds that this would deter Indian and other foreign students from seeking higher education in the country and would significantly hurt university finances.

- Simple Vishwakarma

According to the media reports, the proposed levy, as a charge of 6% on overseas student tuition fees, is intended to fund means-tested maintenance grants for domestically resident low-income family students. Labour officials say revenue from the levy would be used to benefit working-class UK students, and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson confirmed plans to introduce these grants by the end of the current parliamentary term. But universities and student associations contend that the shift could have an opposite effect, rendering the UK internationally less competitive. As per media reports, Amit Tiwari, president of INSA UK, noted that Indian students are the second-largest international population in the country next to China and pump over £4 billion into the UK economy every year.

Cost and Competitiveness