As the dust settles on the outcome of the 2015 general election, one group of business executives who we can be sure are less than ecstatic at what the future may hold in store for them are the university vice-chancellors. During the last parliament, Theresa May was responsible for a raft of ministerial directives aimed at reducing the number of students coming to the UK from outside the European Economic Area. She introduced a quota system for these international students, and forced (through the withdrawal of visa sponsorship licences) the virtual closure of scores of non-taxpayer-funded educational institutions. A number of taxpayer-funded universities also had their sponsorship licences suspended (notably London Metropolitan University and Glyndŵr University), and in the case of Glyndŵr the licence was only restored on condition that this Welsh university’s London campus was shut down.
As she returns to the Home Office, Theresa May – unconfined now because there are no Lib Dem ministers to box her in – must surely be relishing the unqualified implementation of that section of the Conservative party’s manifesto that addressed international students.
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