International Students: Drivers Not Drains
According to research conducted by London First and PwC, international students at London universities contribute a net £2.3 billion the UK economy, the equivalent of £34,122 per student.
This figure is what is left after £540m has been taken off for the public services they consume, including the NHS.
The results also showed that:
- 60% of students in London said that they were more likely to do business with the UK as a result of studying here.
- 92% of students said that they would recommend UK study to their friends and family
- A third said that the complexity of Britain's immigration system had negatively affected their experience of studying here
- The majority also said that the system made it difficult to work here after they finished their studies
Baroness Jo Valentine, the chief executive of London First, said that: "international students are made to feel unwelcome because of anti-immigration rhetoric, and the fact that they are currently included in the government's net migration target.'
'As a matter of priority, our new government should follow the lead of Australia and Canada and reclassify international students as temporary visitors, not migrants. It makes no sense to imply through classification and rhetoric that they are unwelcome, which is harming our universities' abilities to sell education to talented students around the world.'
Image courtesy of Flickr, Creative Commons.
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Freelance writer at KristinaMurkett.com
Oxford English graduate and English teacher, Kristina now works as a private tutor and freelance writer specialising in writing about education, film and books. She can be found on Twitter @kristinamurkett and Instagram @cultureinthetimeofcorona.
