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Overseas Students (Fees)
3.31 pm
Overseas Students (Fees)
8 FEBRUARY 1983
and
The Secretary of State for Foreign Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Francis Pym): With permission, Mr. Speaker, I wish to make a statement.
On 9 June 1982, in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Sir A. Kershaw), I set out the Government's. initial response to the study by the Overseas Students Trust published on 6 June. I said then that the study represented, in the Government's view, a comprehensive and constructive contribution to the development of future policy on overseas students; and that we would seriously consider its recommendations, although I stressed the financial constraints.
The Government have now completed their considera- tion of the trust's recommendations and have taken into account the views of the many outside bodies interested in this field.
The have concluded that it is in the national interest, both in the short term and in the longer term, to provide more help to enable overseas students to come to this country for their further and higher education. The Government have therefore decided to increase their support for overseas students by £46 million over the next three years. This will involve an additional sum of £25 million from the contingency reserve and a reallocation of resources within the aid programme amounting to £21 million. This money will be used to finance a number of new measures involving provision for some 5,000 to 6,000 additional scholarships and awards each year.
The measures are as follows. First, the Government will enter into discussions with the Hong Kong Government about their proposals for a shared funding scheme which would have the effect of treating elegible Hong Kong university and polytechnic students as home students for fee purposes. The Government will be ready to consider arrangements to the same end for other dependent territories.
Secondly, additional awards will be provided for students from the* Commonwealth under the Commonwealth scholarship and fellowship plan.
-Thirdly, a new scheme of discretionary awards will be introduced. This will be selective and will have the object of attracting students,who will not only benefit themselves but whose study and experience here will be of advantage to this country.
Fourthly, there will be some provision for Cyprus, which was singled out in the Overseas Students Trust's study as having a unique combination of claims for special consideration, and for Malaysia, which has traditionally sent the largest number of students to this country.
Fifthly, the Overseas Development Administration's bilateral technical co-operation programme will be expanded to provide additional awards.
Finally, there will be some limited additional provision to enable the British Council to assist the activities of British institutions in attracting fee-paying students from abroad and in strengthening academic links.
In addition to these measure,my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science is favourably inclined towards the trust's recommendation that institutions should have more flexibility over fixing their own fees for overseas students, provided no subsidy is
Overseas Students (Fees)
involved. This is currently being examined in consulta with the University Grants Committee and local educa authorities.
My right hon. Friend also hopes to broaden the so of the overseas research students award scheme an ensure that the full quota of awards is taken up.
The Government accept and will implement man the other recommendations in the .Overseas Stud Trust's study concerning future policy towards over students but which do not involve additional p funding, such as spreading funds available for aw widely in order that more students may benefit.
A number of other recommendations in the Over Students Trust's study need further examination, for and practical reasons. I shall place in the Library of House in the next few days a paper dealing with t aspects and setting out in greater detail the Governm response to the Overseas Students Trust's study, inclu the measures which I have outlined in this statement
The Government believe that it is right and in interests to encourage students from abroad. We responded positively to the recommendations of Overseas Students Trust. I know that this will be w welcomed both in this House and elswhere.
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