The recent news of UK splitting from the European Union (EU) has shocked everyone around the world. As a result of mixed response in the EU and the UK, the Brexit movement will bring along with it serious consequences throughout the world. While the headlines have been spearheading force in the global impact, this rickety ride will take another two years to reach the final negotiations, leaving behind a huge gap of confusion, doubt and a feeling for helplessness.
With this in mind, we wonder, how will this affect the international education scenario? Will it impact the international students moving to UK for higher studies? Would it make it tougher for the Indian students to get in?
Let’s have a look at the major possibilities of Brexit impact on international education.
Scholarship rules could change
With the separation or commonly referred to as, Brexit, the eligibility criteria for scholarships will change. Indian students could be on top of the priority list for the UK universities, with India being a major student market – This could mean more scholarships and funding for the students through external institutions such as the British Council.
While on the other hand, the EU education rewards and scholarships could prove to be a tough treat with most of them already scrapped or considered over-demanding. But, it’s only over time that we will be able to assess the actual position of these policies, as and when they are decided upon. Conversely, after Brexit, EU could gain popularity among the international students and could witness a higher number of applicants as compared to the UK.
Mobility
London is the benchmark international student city but with the impact of Brexit, this vast majority of students belonging to various cultures and regions will find their free movement under the scanner. The policies have laid down stringent rules and regulations and the diversity of students that UK has enjoyed could be severely affected.
The movement of Indian students to the UK for education has already seen a decline over the past few years, with 2014-15 witnessing a fall by approximately 53%. Student mobility which is highly dependent on policies of the government could decline further with most students preferring to choose Europe, especially with their hopeful attitude towards welcoming international students and migrants, as seen lately.
Education expenses
As Brexit settles in, it will adversely affect the cost of education for international students, especially those in UK, which will now be put in the same faction as other international students. While the currency fall will have immediate short-term effects, resulting in lowering education expenses, a long-term analysis shows that several uncertain factors sum up to a much higher number.
Also, if the institutions suffer post the Brexit split, it could result in an increase in the tuition fee as well as other expenses, forcing students to shell out more for the education.
Research work could take a hit
With Brexit, a definite number of EU students in the UK are destined to decrease. This will also lead to a decrease in the funding that research work receives for the EU students. A number of elite universities in the UK could be forced to end their collaborations with the European Union, leading to the decreased amount of funding in research as well. This could see the rise of a new educational superpower in the EU with Germany and France being two strong forces standing firm in an otherwise, fluttering Europe.
With UK no longer part of the EU consortium, it will lose on the benefits and security that the other EU nations enjoy along with the financial support for research work being a major contributor.
Could EU take the lead?
The UK has always been a preferred study destination across the world but according to recent reports, the student mindset has changed and with the changing trends, the EU nations have started accommodating more students through courses taught in English. Especially with the recent attitude towards the migrant crisis, Europe has gained more limelight than one might think. And with the fall of an already faltering UK, Europe might have a chance of a lifetime to finally resort to the glory it deserved. This could mean a serious shift in the power and with UK, arguably, being the leader in international education, Brexit might be costlier affair than they signed up for.
It’s all happening!
These are just some of the possibilities in which Brexit could affect the international education scenario for the international students but, until there is no official announcement about the policies, students should not make any hasty decisions but rather understand the possibilities and make a calculated call. The people are greatly affected by the decision and a lot of those, who a few months ago were just across the channel, now find themselves in a whole other continent.
