Statistics reveal a one in four drop-out rate among students from India and Bangladesh
Concerns have emerged due to high drop-out rates, indicating that some individuals secure student visas but abandon studies to pursue work opportunities
International students should pay their tuition fees upfront to curb potential misuse of the visa system, former universities minister Lord Johnson of Marylebone has proposed. This suggestion arises as statistics reveal a one in four drop-out rate among students from India and Bangladesh.
Lord Johnson emphasised the need for overseas students to demonstrate financial stability throughout their course duration to prevent exploitation of the system.
Concerns have emerged due to high drop-out rates, indicating that some individuals secure student visas but abandon studies to pursue work opportunities, The Times reported.
While being registered with the institution, students are allowed to work up to 20 hours weekly, potentially continuing work without attending classes.
While the overall drop-out rates for foreign students mirror those from the UK at approximately 8 percent, there exists significant variation.
Rates range from 2 to 3 per cent for students from China and Singapore to 20 to 25 per cent for those from India and Bangladesh.
These figures, related to the pandemic period, highlight instances where students might have been compelled to discontinue studies due to the drying up of part-time work used to sustain themselves.
A visiting professor at King’s College London and a non-executive director at Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology, Johnson highlighted that over the past three years, with the considerable rise in student enrollment from south Asia, there has been a corresponding increase in drop-out rates.
However, he added, there's room to enhance the system and effectively manage these dropout rates at this scale. “It’s achievable” he said.
He went on to say that it's in the best interest of all parties involved if students arrive adequately funded, minimising the probability of them resorting to work beyond the allowed 20 hours per week and subsequently dropping out.
The primary adjustment involves the requirement of overseas students to make a substantial upfront payment of their tuition fees. The second entails necessitating them to place their essential maintenance funding in an escrow account—similar to Canada's Guaranteed Investment Certificate system from which they can access funds during their academic tenure.
However, the primary concern lies in the potential freefall of international student enrollment.
UK institutions are witnessing a notable decline in demand from overseas, even before experiencing the full impact of recently disclosed changes in dependant rules, set to take effect in January.
Additionally, there are anticipations of rises in visa fees and health surcharges, adding to the impending challenges.
The fees collected from international students serve to subsidize domestic undergraduates, who have sustained a freeze in annual fees at £9,250 for over six years.
According to experts, the review announced by James Cleverly, the home secretary, regarding the visa allowing overseas graduates to stay and work for two years after completing their course, is likely to discourage Indian students, whose numbers have been steadily increasing in recent times.
It comes months after a ban was imposed on graduate students from bringing dependants, a move likely to impact the number of applications from Nigerian students.
According to figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, in 2014/15, UK universities hosted 18,400 Indian students and 3,740 from Bangladesh.
However, by 2021/22, these numbers had surged to 126,500 from India and 12,700 from Bangladesh. Nigeria also witnessed a significant increase, sending over 44,000 students to the UK in 2021/22, compared to 18,000 in 2014/15.
Former universities minister Johnson said there was increasing competition from countries like the US, Canada, Australia, and others teaching in English, all vying to attract overseas students.
He noted preliminary indications suggest a more than 50 per cent decline in demand from Nigeria for the upcoming year. This accumulation of factors paints a scenario where the numbers of UK international students appear to be significantly decreasing year by year.
While policy adjustments can address dropout rates, sustaining high international student numbers is an asset coveted by nations worldwide. “A genuine problem would be when we can’t attract them at all. That’s the territory we really do not want to enter,” he said.
Universities Minister Robert Halfon mentioned that the visa review aims to scrutinise potential system abuse and assess the job placements of graduates. He said the government was committed to fostering an environment conducive to international student arrivals.
Halfon said our objective is to ensure those who remain here secure meaningful graduate positions. We aim to evaluate the types of employment retained by those staying for two years. “At the end of the day, visa matters are matters for the Home Office, but we’re doing everything possible to support and encourage international students.”
TENSIONS with Pakistan, fluctuating ties with Bangladesh, and growing Chinese influence in Nepal and Sri Lanka have complicated India’s neighbourhood policy, a top foreign policy and security expert has said.
C Raja Mohan, distinguished professor at the Motwani Jodeja Institute for American Studies at OP Jindal Global University, has a new book out, called India and the Rebalancing of Asia.
He also described how India’s engagement with the US, Japan, Australia and Europe has moved from symbolism to one of substance. Raja Mohan said, “After independence, India withdrew from regional security politics, focusing on global issues and non-alignment. But the past decade has seen a reversal. India is now back in the Asian balance of power. The very concept of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ reflects that, putting the ‘Indo’ into the ‘Pacific.’”
The idea, he explained, has deep historical roots: “The British once viewed the Indian and Pacific Oceans as interconnected realms. Now, after decades of separation, those spaces are merging again.”
Narendra Modi with Xi Jinping and (right)Vladimir Putin at last month’s SCO summit in China
While India once aspired to build a “post-Western order” alongside China, those dreams have long since faded, according to the expert.
“Contradictions between India and China have sharpened,” he said, citing territorial disputes, a $100 billion (£75bn) trade deficit, and China’s growing influence among India’s neighbours.
By contrast, India’s ties with the US and Europe have strengthened.
“Where once India shunned security cooperation with Washington, it is now deeply engaged,” he said. Yet he emphasised that India remains an independent actor, “not a traditional ally like Japan or Australia.”
His comments were made during the Adelphi series, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) last month. According to the expert, who is also a visiting research professor at the National University of Singapore, the return of India to regional security politics marks a significant change in its foreign policy since independence. Popular discussions about the “rise of Asia” tend to oversimplify what Raja Mohan explained was a deeply uneven transformation. “It’s more accurate to say Asia as a whole is rising,” he said, adding, “but not evenly. China has risen much faster than the rest.”
This imbalance has created internal contradictions within Asia, according to the academic. “China’s sense of entitlement to regional dominance and its territorial claims have provoked reactions from other Asian countries,” he said.
While China’s economic ascent, once “a marriage of Western capital and Chinese labour”, that relationship has strained over the past 15 years as the Asian country grew into a global military and economic powerhouse, according to Raja Mohan.
And the US, which previously nurtured China’s growth, now seeks to restore balance in Asia, shifting from a policy of engagement to one of cautious competition, he said.
Dwelling on India’s rise, he said, “The question is not whether India can match China alone, but whether it can help build coalitions that limit unilateralism. History shows weaker states can play crucial balancing roles, as China once did against the Soviet Union.”
He explored how the US-China and India-China dynamics might evolve, particularly under US president Donald Trump.
“Some believe the US is retrenching to focus on Asia, others think Trump might seek a grand bargain with China,” Raja Mohan said. “Much depends on how Washington manages its ties with Russia and its global posture.”
He also described how India’s engagement with the US, Japan, Australia and Europe has moved from symbolism to one of substance. Raja Mohan said, “After independence, India withdrew from regional security politics, focusing on global issues and non-alignment. But the past decade has seen a reversal. India is now back in the Asian balance of power. The very concept of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ reflects that, putting the ‘Indo’ into the ‘Pacific.’”
The idea, he explained, has deep historical roots: “The British once viewed the Indian and Pacific Oceans as interconnected realms. Now, after decades of separation, those spaces are merging again.”
While India once aspired to build a “post-Western order” alongside China, those dreams have long since faded, according to the expert.
“Contradictions between India and China have sharpened,” he said, citing territorial disputes, a $100 billion (£75bn) trade deficit, and China’s growing influence among India’s neighbours.
By contrast, India’s ties with the US and Europe have strengthened.
“Where once India shunned security cooperation with Washington, it is now deeply engaged,” he said. Yet he emphasised that India remains an independent actor, “not a traditional ally like Japan or Australia.”
His comments were made during the Adelphi series, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) last month. According to the expert, who is also a visiting research professor at the National University of Singapore, the return of India to regional security politics marks a significant change in its foreign policy since independence. Popular discussions about the “rise of Asia” tend to oversimplify what Raja Mohan explained was a deeply uneven transformation. “It’s more accurate to say Asia as a whole is rising,” he said, adding, “but not evenly. China has risen much faster than the rest.”
This imbalance has created internal contradictions within Asia, according to the academic. “China’s sense of entitlement to regional dominance and its territorial claims have provoked reactions from other Asian countries,” he said.
While China’s economic ascent, once “a marriage of Western capital and Chinese labour”, that relationship has strained over the past 15 years as the Asian country grew into a global military and economic powerhouse, according to Raja Mohan.
And the US, which previously nurtured China’s growth, now seeks to restore balance in Asia, shifting from a policy of engagement to one of cautious competition, he said.
Dwelling on India’s rise, he said, “The question is not whether India can match China alone, but whether it can help build coalitions that limit unilateralism. History shows weaker states can play crucial balancing roles, as China once did against the Soviet Union.”
He explored how the US-China and India-China dynamics might evolve, particularly under US president Donald Trump.
“Some believe the US is retrenching to focus on Asia, others think Trump might seek a grand bargain with China,” Raja Mohan said. “Much depends on how Washington manages its ties with Russia and its global posture.”
China, he noted, has already toned down its aggressive “wolf warrior” diplomacy, realising that assertiveness has backfired. Yet the underlying structural contradictions between China and both the US and India “are unlikely to disappear.”
Asked about India’s balancing act between the US and Russia, especially after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the expert was pragmatic.
“India has steadily moved closer to the US and the West, but Trump’s trade-first approach has caused turbulence,” Raja Mohan said.
He cited the threats of high tariffs on Indian imports and resentment over trade imbalances with Washington DC.
On Russia, Raja Mohan’s view was that the relationship has been “in slow decline since the 1990s.”
While India’s GDP now outpaces Russia’s, it continues to engage Moscow for practical reasons. “India’s oil purchases from Russia rose from two per cent to forty per cent after 2022. That’s pragmatism, not alignment,” Raja Mohan said.
He added that prime minister Narendra Modi’s recent handshakes with China’s president Xi Jinping and Russia’s president Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO) summit in China were “signals, reminders to the West that India has options.”
Raja Mohan said India was at the cusp of a historic transformation. “India once provided security across Asia - in both world wars, millions of Indian soldiers fought overseas. That history was forgotten when India withdrew from global security,” he said.
“Now we are reclaiming that role. Ideally, the partnership with the US is the best. But if not, India and other Asian powers will have to shoulder the burden themselves.”
“Japan, Korea, India, Australia - all will have to do more on their own,” he said. “We’ll need to pull up our own bootstraps.”
Dr Benjamin Rhode, senior fellow at IISS, chaired the session.
aggressive “wolf warrior” diplomacy, realising that assertiveness has backfired. Yet the underlying structural contradictions between China and both the US and India “are unlikely to disappear.”
Asked about India’s balancing act between the US and Russia, especially after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the expert was pragmatic.
“India has steadily moved closer to the US and the West, but Trump’s trade-first approach has caused turbulence,” Raja Mohan said.
He cited the threats of high tariffs on Indian imports and resentment over trade imbalances with Washington DC.
On Russia, Raja Mohan’s view was that the relationship has been “in slow decline since the 1990s.”
While India’s GDP now outpaces Russia’s, it continues to engage Moscow for practical reasons. “India’s oil purchases from Russia rose from two per cent to forty per cent after 2022. That’s pragmatism, not alignment,” Raja Mohan said.
He added that prime minister Narendra Modi’s recent handshakes with China’s president Xi Jinping and Russia’s president Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO) summit in China were “signals, reminders to the West that India has options.”
Raja Mohan said India was at the cusp of a historic transformation. “India once provided security across Asia - in both world wars, millions of Indian soldiers fought overseas. That history was forgotten when India withdrew from global security,” he said.
“Now we are reclaiming that role. Ideally, the partnership with the US is the best. But if not, India and other Asian powers will have to shoulder the burden themselves.”
“Japan, Korea, India, Australia - all will have to do more on their own,” he said. “We’ll need to pull up our own bootstraps.”
Dr Benjamin Rhode, senior fellow at IISS, chaired the session.
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