Strong Growth in UK's International Student Enrolment

UK universities are recruiting a record number of international students during this global pandemic situation. The Universities and College Admission Services (UCAS) claimed that British universities are appointing international scholars more than 9% than before. Moreover, most of these students are at their undergraduate level and are outside of the EU.

UCAS’s research shows that more than 1,00,000 foreign undergraduate students are coming to the UK. Additionally, remainder and postgraduate apply directly to individual universities rather than through the admission service.

In the United Kingdom (UK), international students contribute £28.8 billion to countries’ cash boxes. The British universities generate economic activity worth £390 for each person in the UK each year, rising to more than £700 for every inhabitant of London is the one-year intake of international students.

The UK universities have redoubled their efforts to appoint international students from overseas and may have been helped by negative feelings towards the United States. Also, the Coronavirus remains unchecked in parts of the country, and while prospective rivals in New Zealand and Australia remain fully closed for the international students.

The university admission officers also celebrate a record number of first-year undergraduate students who are coming from all over the world. The director of Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) Mr Hillman said, ‘The data clearly tell a very positive story. It was always clear that domestic demand would be up, despite the reduction in 18-year old, because the alternatives to more education are so poor this year.’

Furthermore, 2,72,000 students from outside the UK who enrolled at British universities, in 2018-2019 would generate almost £26bn in net economic activity once the costs of teaching support and their use of public services had been accounted for.

University of East Anglia’s vice-president David Richardson said that the number had dropped by 50% in 2021 of EU students. However, he also added that non-European students were nearly back to Pre-Covid levels. Moreover, the British government claimed that it was working to improve the number of international students in the country.

According to 2019/20, there were 5,38,615 foreign students studying in the UK. This means that a large number of international students are flying to the UK outside of the EU. The United States took 26% of all higher education students who were studying overseas at universities in the OECD in the year 2017. On the other hand, the UK was in second place and obtained 12%.

Experts were claiming from the very beginning that EU numbers would be down, given the Brexit uncertainties and shenanigans. However, no one could predict such a big increase in non-EU international students and we have to wait to see if they will all actually arrive and then stay the course.