Daily Times

When overseas students land in the United Kingdom (UK) for studies, the UK’s universities arrange reorientation courses for them. The year 2013 suggests that the British High Commission in Pakistan also needs reorientation especially when the issue is of its obligations towards overseas Pakistani students. The obligations begin the moment the Commission receives the student visa fee from a prospective overseas Pakistani student. As per the new student visa policy (for Tier 4 visa applicants) introduced in April 2012, all Pakistani students who intend to seek higher education in a UK’s college or university need to prove the existence of measurable funds with them.

With that, the amount of money Pakistani students contributes to the UK’ economy in the form of Great Britain Pound (GBP) is calculable. When one post-graduate Pakistani student visits the UK for studying one year Masters Degree, the student pays about 200 GBP as the student visa fee, 12,000 GBP as the tuition fee, 3,000 GBP as the lodging fee and 5,000 GBP as dining/travelling expenses. The total amount comes to about 20,200 GBP in round figures. If 100 Pakistani students fall in this category, the total revenue contribution to the UK’s economy will be about 2, 00,000 GBP. Add more number of students and diversify their categories such as bachelors, M Phil, PhD in both the fields of science and arts, the yearly sum being poured into the UK’s economy will increase proportionately. Of this amount, the student visa fee contributes directly to the UK’s exchequer while the rest of the amount takes an indirect route to contribute to the UK’s treasury through the tax collected from the salaries of the universities’ professors and staff and the tax collected from the UK’s services sector including catering and travelling industries. Hence is the relationship between the pocket of an overseas Pakistani student and the health of the UK’s economy.

By introducing the new student visa policy, the UK government has safeguarded its financial interests to ensure the swelling of its economy but what about the academic and research interests of overseas Pakistani students who, after getting admission to a UK’s top ranking university, come to know that the claims made in the booklets, brochures and websites of the university were just to hoodwink them? Otherwise, the situation was practically different on the ground to the extent that the degree (which would be issued at the end of the degree course) would have more a show-off value than a qualitative one. The question is simple: while protecting its financial interests through the new student visa regime, why did the UK government overlook putting into place a mechanism that could ensure the safeguard of academic and research interests of overseas Pakistani students? The simple side of the question is this: when overseas Pakistani students are fulfiling their part of obligation of providing finances to the UK’s economy, why is the UK government failing in fulfiling its part of obligation of protecting their academic and research interests?

It is not yet understandable why the British High Commission in Pakistan not raises its status higher than just a middle man that is interested in collecting and stacking its part of revenue in the form of the student visa fee and then becomes indifferent to what happens afterwards to the overseas Pakistani students in the UK’s universities.

After the beginning of an academic/research session at any top ranking university of the UK, if an overseas Pakistani student proves that the averred academic and research standards of the university have not been delivered practically, and consequently, secures the refund of the full tuition fee from the university, why should that student not be entitled to the refund of the full student visa fee too?

Such a situation creates two scenarios. First, if the student visa fee is considered related to the education pursuit of the student and wherever the education pursuit of the student is frustrated owing to the fault of a UK’s university, the fee should be refunded. Unfortunately, neither Gemma Capes nor Doreen Brydone (officials of the British High Commission, Islamabad) understands this simple point. Second, if the student visa fee is deemed related to the revenue collection pursuit of the UK government exercised through the British High Commission, both the government and the Commission should be answerable as to why any UK’s university has befooled the overseas student. Unfortunately, Adam Thomson, British High Commissioner to Pakistan, does not understand this simple point.

In this age of accountability, the absence of any such refund law is not an excuse. If the new student visa policy can be formulated, why can the new student-visa-fee-refund law not be framed? The British High Commissioner should write to his government on enacting a law dealing with the refund of the student visa fee because not only the incidents of intrigue and deception practised by the UK’s top ranking universities are increasing but the awareness level of overseas Pakistani students is also mounting.

In the presence of big loopholes in the UK’s Higher Education sector, to ensure the existence of a mechanism that makes a UK’s university accountable to an overseas Pakistani student is not the job of the student, as an overseas student hardly has extra time or money to indulge in any such wrangle. Instead, to do so is the job of the UK government, which obtains its financial share whenever a study agreement takes place between a UK’s university and an overseas student.

As per the new student visa policy, those Pakistani students who are not proficient in English cannot pass the interview to secure the student visa. Accepted! What about those, current or former, overseas Pakistani students who are well-versed in English and have been challenging the British Council to have a debate on the state of affairs of the UK’s Higher Education sector? Why does the British High Commission not substitute the Council to have the debate?

The writer is a freelance columnist and can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo.com