Recommendation 46

We understand the Government’s wish to crackdown on abuse of the student visa system. The Government has decided to pursue this objective through reforming the BCA requirements. We have heard concerns from higher education providers and stakeholders about the implementation of the tougher BCA requirements, particularly how they would be measured and publicised. We heard that the international student market is changing with demand from China expected to decline. This makes it vital that HE institutions can diversify the countries which they recruit from. However, the BCA reforms appear to be deterring HE institutions from diversifying where they recruit from, despite this being an objective supported by the Government’s International Education Strategy. (Conclusion, Paragraph 244)