The UK is exposing itself to “astonishing risk” by being over-reliant on China and India for international students, according to a vice-chancellor.
Adam Habib, the director of SOAS University of London, warned that if governments in these countries were for some reason to “turn the taps off” and stop their students travelling abroad to study, it would cause “75 to 80 per cent” of British higher education institutions to “collapse”.
That risk was just one of the reasons why the UK model for providing education to those from overseas was “broken and unsustainable”, Professor Habib told the International Higher Education Forum 2023, organised by Universities UK International (UUKi).
He also issued a warning about the threat from private sector companies intent on “disrupting the model” and accused UK universities of “accelerating brain drain”, which he said would leave some countries unable to confront the global challenges the world faces.
