The Rishi Sunak government, which is keen to bring down migration, has urged the nation’s universities to focus on “education, not immigration”, The Telegraph reports.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said that British students should be the priority for our education system and universities. Student visas must be used for education, not immigration.
The statement was made in the backdrop of an official report on foreign students coming to the UK.
Home Secretary James Cleverly had tasked the independent Migration Advisory Committee to review of graduate route visa, introduced in 2021, that allows international students to stay on for up to two years after their degree to look for work and gain work experience.
The committee rejected calls to further slash the number of foreign graduates at UK universities.
It said the graduate visa route was “not undermining” the integrity and quality of the higher education system and should remain in place.
It said it found no evidence of “significant abuse” of the route which allows international students to stay in the UK for two or three years after graduation.
The committee said the graduate visa route was helping the universities make up for financial losses on the domestic front and expanding the country’s research landscape.
The spokesman said, “We are focused on driving down migration whilst ensuring the UK attracts the best and the brightest, and we will study the MAC findings and outline our approach on the graduate route in due course.”
Curator Emma Slocombe with ikat robes and arabachi coats in the Peter the Great Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
View of the entrance to Blickling Hall on a rainy autumn dayAmit Roy 
Kente cloth from Ghana in the Long Gallery in Blickling Hall 
Decoration in the Great Hall at Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Palampore fragment made in coastal south-east India in the Brown Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Bed valance dating from early 1700s in the Italian Print Room at Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Indian inspired fabric draped on sofas in the South Drawing Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Indian inspired fabric draped on sofas in the South Drawing Room with Indian carpet in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Karun Thakar has picked out the geometric patterns in the bookcase and the Kente cloth in the Long Gallery in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Large tapestry depicting Peter the Great defeating the Swedish army at the Battle of Poltava in 1709 Amit Roy 
ikat robes and arabachi coats in the Peter the Great Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Baghs and kanthas made by women provide contrast to the men only portraits in the Great Hall at Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Baghs and kanthas in the entrance Great Hall at Blickling Hall Amit Roy
Baghs and Kanthas in the Great Hall in harmony with stained glass window at Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Kimonos reflect Japanese influence in Upper Ante Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Kimono in Upper Ante Room in Blickling Hall 
A view of the Palace and fort at Agra shows romantic side of India Amit Roy 
Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Table carpet, European 1670-1680 Amit Roy 
Unfinished 17th century Italian embroidery in the Print Room at Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Picture of Kashmir shows a romantic view of India Amit Roy 
A panel of Ashburnham bed hangings made in Gujarat for sale in Europe in the Brown Room in Blickling Hall Amit Roy 
Colcha made in the 1600s by women in Bengal for the Portuguese market in the Long Gallery at Blickling Hall Amit Roy
