It has been over a month since home secretary Suella Braverman announced plans to crack down on “unscrupulous” education agents. However, details about the implementation of this new policy remain scant.
If we truly prioritise the wellbeing of students, as both government ministers and universities often claim, we should welcome this objective and provide support to the Home Office and the Department for Education in developing and implementing a policy that safeguards genuine students.
It should be in the best interest of all universities to eliminate bad and unscrupulous agents from the market and allow reputable agents to thrive.
We should stand behind former universities minister Jo Johnson’s call for greater transparency about the role played by education agents and the need for Office for Students to publish agent performance indicators, including visa success rates, non-continuation rates, and completion rates of students supported by agents during their application to and enrolment at UK universities. This data would prove invaluable to prospective international students as well as universities seeking reliable agents while avoiding untrustworthy ones.
