International student fee markups reaching 400% of the actual cost of delivery are “morally problematic”, the director of a London university has said during a discussion on the financial sustainability of UK institutions.
Adam Habib, director of SOAS, criticised the UK’s higher education system for ‘exploiting’ international students, saying at the International Higher Education Forum 2023 that the system is “broken in severe ways”.
Leaders from the international education sector debated higher education’s reliance on international students during the two-day online conference run by Universities UK International.
Jamie Arrowsmith, director of UUKi, told attendees that universities have “kept the lights on” by recruiting international students and entering into commercial partnerships.
