MPs eye overseas students
Foreign students targeted for higher education expansion
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Sunday, 05, Aug 2007 08:19
UK universities should look to developing countries like China to support expansion in the higher education sector, according to a group of MPs.
A report from the Commons' education and skills committee published today emphasises the importance for universities of developing partnerships with overseas institutions.
By pursuing joint schemes and participating in partnerships like the existing UK-India education and research initiative, higher education in the UK will be able to maintain its current success.
Committee chairman Barry Sheerman said partnerships brought "significant educational, cultural and economic benefits to universities and to the country more generally".
"International relationships in higher education need to be sustainable, and time spent now in building links will reap rich rewards in the long term. Encouraging flows of students both to and from this country should be a fundamental part of this process," he said.
"Key decision-makers in China believe that the time is ripe for a major growth in collaborative research between the UK and China and this could lead to a massive increase in research funding for UK universities."
The report underlines the primary importance of maintaining high educational standards, while pressing educational institutions to look at foreign students as more than a short-term opportunity for boosting fee income.