Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government, following reporting by The
Sunday Times on 28 January, what assessment they have made of
admission policies for foreign students at Russell Group
Universities.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Education () (Con)
My Lords, I was concerned to see the allegations of bad practice
by recruitment agents and unfairness towards British students.
The Department for Education has launched an urgent investigation
into university admission practices, including the behaviours of
agents involved in recruiting international students. We will
take action to ensure fairness between domestic and international
students. Every student should be able to benefit from a
world-class education.
(CB)
My Lords, I am speaking in a personal capacity, but I also serve
as chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which is
responsible for compliance with the public sector equality duty.
This seeks to prevent discrimination and to ensure equality of
opportunity. The Sunday Times investigation has revealed that as
many as 15 of our 24 top universities are accepting through the
back door foreign students at lower grades than those applied to
UK students for the same courses. In effect, they are accepting
cash for access. This is unfair at best, and discriminatory at
worst, as UK students do not have those choices. I am extremely
relieved to hear the noble Baroness’s response about ordering an
urgent investigation. Can she give the House a timeline and say
what measures they might take to penalise the institutions that
are creating this lack of a level playing field for domestic
students?
(Con)
The noble Baroness makes important points. To be clear, our work
will focus particularly on the unscrupulous behaviour of
recruitment agents, and whether it is genuinely easier for
international students than for domestic students to get places
on undergraduate courses. However, there is no evidence that
international students are displacing domestic students in
England, where UK students make up 85% of the total population.
We will be working on this as a matter of urgency, but I do not
have as yet a definite timeline to give the noble Baroness.
The Lord Speaker ()
My Lords, the noble Lord, , is participating
remotely.
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, as someone who benefited from free higher education in
France, and in gratitude has remained a lifetime Francophile, I
argue that the best way to develop sympathetic international
relationships is to invest not by bringing the rich, unqualified
undeserving into the United Kingdom just for the money, but
bringing instead the brightest and the best from problematic
parts of the world, even at our expense? Is that not one of the
best investments we can make in developing international
understanding?
(Con)
Developing international understanding is important, but I
imagine that universities would argue that there are a number of
other potentially greater priorities in terms of the quality of
the education they provide. We are very proud of our track record
in terms of international students. Everyone, including the
Government and universities, need to have a shared interest in
upholding the quality of and confidence in the system.
(Con)
My Lords, I declare an interest in that I am still paying a
student loan with an interest rate of 7.6%. I ask my noble friend
the Minister: what are the Government doing to ensure that the
contact hours offered by university courses represent value for
money for all students enrolling on them?
(Con)
The universities are obliged to provide information about contact
hours to students before they go on a course, and there are
websites that are UK-wide, such as Discover Uni, where potential
students can compare, for example, contact hours and other
metrics across courses. The OfS obviously regulates the quality
of courses and, although it does not look specifically at contact
hours, it does look at continuation rates from one year to the
next, completion rates and progression to graduate jobs.
(LD)
My Lords, the Government have got themselves into a situation
where universities are just very short of cash. When are we going
to put enough money into the system so they are only taking
foreign students because they are of the right quality, and not
because it keeps the universities afloat?
(Con)
I remind the House of the figures on university income. Over the
last five years, it has grown by 24%, from £32.9 billion to £40.8
billion, and over that time UK fees have grown by 19%. The latest
data on the staff headcount in universities, which was published
very recently, showed another increase year on year, which does
not look to me like a sector that is in trouble across the
board.
(Lab)
My Lords, I am pleased to hear that the Government are taking
seriously the Sunday Timesallegations, but the truth is that even
within the UK there is not a level playing field for admissions
to university, with many young people from disadvantaged
backgrounds still missing out. In a report from October 2023, the
Sutton Trust said:
“Widening participation efforts appear to have been a case of
‘running to stand still’, and where those efforts have not been
present, inequalities have worsened”.
What further action will the Government take to address this
issue?
(Con)
The Government share the noble Baroness’s commitment to making
sure that disadvantaged students can access higher education. As
the noble Baroness and the House know, our perspective is that
there are opportunities at different levels of jobs, such as
levels 4, 5 and 6—namely, undergraduate level. We have also put
an enormous emphasis on degree apprenticeships so that loans
should not be a barrier to access and, as the House knows, we
will be introducing the lifelong loan entitlement, which will
also unlock potential from those who do not currently access
higher education.
(Con)
My Lords, like the noble Lord, , I benefited from a
free education and a grant at St Andrews University. Today I
would not have a hope of getting into St Andrews University
because, while they are free of tuition fees, there is
insufficient funding. The result is that children from
disadvantaged backgrounds cannot get a place at Scottish
universities. The universities have responded to the lack of
income from fees by bringing in lots of international students.
This is a disgrace, and if the situation in England is bad, north
of the border—under the SNP—it is extremely worse.
(Con)
I have to agree with my noble friend. The figures are very
different in Scotland. I mentioned that 85% of undergraduates in
England are UK students. In Scotland, that figure is only 66% and
has declined from 73% over the last five years.
(CB)
My Lords, I declare an interest as the proud father of a daughter
who has obtained places at university from this September. Can I
ask the Minister to focus, in the department’s investigation of
this matter, on the stress imposed on students—and, of course,
their parents? It is a very stressful process, and it adds
immeasurably to the stress if students cannot be confident that
universities are applying a fair and transparent procedure.
(Con)
Absolutely. We focus on that and a sense of confidence in the
fairness of the system is vital. However, I would underline
universities are autonomous institutions, and we would encourage
them to take the initiative to address the noble Lord’s
concerns.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords—
(Lab)
My Lords—
(Con)
My Lords—
(Con)
My Lords, we will hear from the noble Baroness, Lady Fox, and
then the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, I fear the problem is that we have lost sight of what
universities are for. Does the Minister agree that it is a con
when new university degrees are created as a substitute for
high-quality skills training—the latest being estate agents’
degrees—while academic study is suffering? For example, there is
the tragic closure of the music department at Oxford Brookes. Is
not this university growth propelled by credentialing schemes,
leading to the exploitation of overseas students who are
effectively buying visas/degrees to pay for this ridiculous,
non-academic growth?
(Con)
I think the noble Baroness brings together a number of different
issues. However, the essence is: do we need high-quality degrees
in this country that are accessible, particularly to those from
disadvantaged backgrounds? There are areas where we have clear
concerns. We have already expressed our concerns publicly about
foundation years and have reduced the funding for classroom-based
subjects, as well as regarding franchise provision.
