Terrible food and such small portions. The scene in Annie Hall finds an echo in those bemoaning that too many young Britons go to university while simultaneously carping at the foreigners “taking their places”. It is hard to imagine a more self-defeating response to university admissions than to cap overseas student numbers, as proposed by those in this crochety mindset.
It is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the role international students play in our knowledge economy. Britain has few globally competitive industries of any scale: higher education, second only to the US in its international appeal, is one of them. International students bring talent, soft power and hard cash in equal measure. They also play a critical role in widening choice for domestic students.
