UK’s new Prime Minister,
Theresa May, has moved oversight of the higher education sector to the
Department for Education in a sweeping cabinet reshuffle that was completed at
the end of last week.
The universities minister,
Jo Johnson, will stay in place, but the Department for Business, Innovation and
Skills, which previously had responsibility for universities, has been replaced
by a new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and its briefs
split between other departments.
The department will have a
major role to play in implementing the upcoming Higher Education Bill, which
includes measures to increase access to degree-granting powers for private
higher education institutions and establish a new Office for Students.
There had been some
uncertainty over whether the bill would be shelved when a new prime minister
came to power, but it has been confirmed that the second reading will go ahead
on Tuesday.
The new appointments came as
part of a wide-ranging reshuffle by Prime Minister May, who came into post last
week to replace David Cameron, who resigned following the Brexit referendum.
It’s as yet unclear how the
changes will impact the international education sector. As home secretary, May
was tough on immigration and spoke out on multiple occasions against abuse of
the student visa system.
She has strongly opposed
taking international students out of net migration figures, something her
predecessor David Cameron is reported to have considered doing. As
recently as last month, Lord Bilimoria, co-chair of the All Party
Parliamentary Group for International Students, said Cameron had expressed
willingness to exclude international students from net migration targets.
She also previously announced that non-EU students
would be made to return home immediately after graduating to apply for a
visa even if they have a job offer, rather than switching in-country – plans
which were overridden by the party leadership shortly thereafter.
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