Boris Johnson battles fall in Indian students at UK universities
Boris Johnson is attempting to reverse the sharp decline in the number of Indian students enrolling at British universities by lobbying his brother, the higher education minister, to support a new visa enabling Commonwealth students to stay and work in the UK after the end of their degrees.
The London mayor — who has previously criticised his own Conservative colleagues for pursuing “crazy” student immigration policies — has become increasingly concerned about UK universities losing out to competitors in the US, Australia and Canada as the Home Office seeks to toughen visa rules for foreigners coming to study in Britain. The number of Indian students arriving at UK universities has halved from 39,090 in 2010-11 to 19,750 in 2013-14, according to official figures.
Source: The Financial Times
