Hundreds of Pakistani students face expulsion over London Met visa snag
London Metropolitan University — Photo courtesy Creative commons
LONDON: London Metropolitan University is one of the most popular universities for the prospective students aiming to study in UK from Pakistan. Its popularity amongst the local Pakistani students can be gauged from the fact that it is a regular advertiser in all the leading newspapers of the country and was one of the first international universities to open its regional office in Pakistan.
The British government has stripped London Metropolitan University of its right to sponsor visas for overseas students, leaving thousands of students facing possible deportation.
London Metropolitan University had its Highly Trusted Status — which allowed it to sponsor visas for students from outside the European Union — revoked by the UK Border Agency on Wednesday over alleged failings in its procedures.
The move means current overseas students have 60 days to enrol on a course elsewhere, with more than 2,000 students facing deportation if they fail to find another university, according to the National Union of Students (NUS).
The union warned of “catastrophic” effects on Britain’s industry for educating students from overseas, which was estimated last year to be worth GBP14 billion.
Almost 300,000 non-EU foreign students were enrolled in Britain in the 2010-11 academic year.
The university said on its website: “The implications of the revocation are hugely significant and far-reaching… Our ABSOLUTE PRIORITY is to our students, both current and prospective, and the University will meet all its obligations to them.”
Immigration minister Damian Green told BBC radio that after an audit lasting six months, the Border Agency found “a serious systemic failure where it appears that the university doesn’t have the capacity to be a proper sponsor”.
He said that a quarter of students there lacked permission to stay in the country, while there was insufficient evidence that students spoke English and no proof that half of those enrolled had been attending lectures.
But he sought to reassure prospective students that “this will not be replicated across the university sector”.
The government had formed a task force to assist current students whose visas are set to be revoked, he added.
The NUS labelled the move political, linking it with promised immigration quotas brought in by Prime Minister David Cameron’s government.
It said it had contacted Cameron to “express anger at the way decisions have been made in recent weeks and to reiterate the potentially catastrophic effects on higher education… as an export industry”.
A Border Agency spokesman said: “The latest audit revealed problems with 61 per cent of files randomly sampled. Allowing London Metropolitan University to continue to sponsor and teach international students was not an option.
“These are problems with one university, not the whole sector.”
London Metropolitan is in the top 20 British recruiters of international students, with 6,000 EU and non-EU overseas students in 2010-11, according to government figures.
It said it was working closely with bodies including the Border Agency to try to resolve the problems.
I am a past student and MS graduate from London Met having completed my MS in 2005. Feel sorry for the students and their families.
There has to be a comprehensive system to provide some protection to these students, It is advised that the student must consider joint legal action against the university to recover their cost
Hundreds of (almost) illeterte Pakistani students have been going to UK universities to work part-time jobs. In the current economic crisis, they need to return home. Unfortunatelty, the reason for their being in UK to begin with is the 5000-8000 British Pound Sterling that they can gather from here and there. UK immigration and universities have only themself to blame for the current immigration crisis that they are facing. On the flip side, again, it is in the best interest of all the bogus Pakistani students living in UK to return home.
This is a sad development for all foreign students enrolled at the London Metropolitan University. The UK gov’t and the BA should give foreign students more time to re-enroll at other schools, as 60 days is an unrealistic time for a student to find, apply, get admitted, sort out funding/financial matters, get housing, etc, at another school. This way the students who are serious of getting a UK education do have a recourse and those who just got admitted to get a UK visa have to find alternative ways to stay in the country or return home.