Just after 7am on Saturday 23 April I found myself in the BBC Radio 4 Today programme studio sitting at a green mic opposite presenters John Humphrys and Justin Webb. How did that happen?!
An item in the first news bulletin reported on statistics from a BBC Freedom of Information request which showed that 33,000 students a year had their visas curtailed between 2013 and 2015 and in the same period 400 education institutions had their licences to sponsor international students revoked. A Home Office statement said the figures showed that their ‘crackdown on abuse was working’. The government said they were ‘poor quality institutions which were damaging the UK’s reputation for top quality education’. Dominic Scott, our Dominic Scott, Chief Executive was quoted saying he feared the Home Office might be aiming to meet net migration targets rather than addressing real abuse. The NUS said the government’s action would further damage the UK’s reputation as a desirable place to study. It was the first time I heard the report that had been published that morning on the BBC website
I had placed the matching green earphones next to the mic on my head but John leaned across, ‘you don’t need to wear them unless you are very hard of hearing,’ he said. I’d never done this before.
The news continued about celebrations for the 400th anniversary of the birth of Shakespeare. John told me there was an interview before me so I sat and watched Justin bounce gently in his seat as he read his news and interviewed someone on the phone about Barack Obama’s statements about Britain leaving the EU. I couldn’t hear what the caller was saying – I didn’t have headphones on.
I looked around the studio. I was sat at an oval table with a large hole in the middle for lots of cables. Green lights lit up when we were live in the studio. A man was ushered in to the green room which was next to the studio and visible through a large window. He took his bag off his shoulder and sat down looking relaxed; like he belonged. When I’d been shown into the green room (after they’d told me ‘you’ve got John’) I was told to help myself to breakfast but I couldn’t face the fruit or pastries on the tray in front of me. I sipped my water. I’d recently watched a TED talk about how to trick your body into believing it’s powerful by taking up strong poses. Research has shown that you can raise your own testosterone levels so I leaned back in the chair with my hands behind my head. I felt almost calm.
In the studio I spread out the papers I’d scribbled on the night before. Dominic had been talking to the BBC during Friday but it was late afternoon when they told him the Today programme was interested in running the story. But the BBC were trying to have more women on air. I took some persuading.
Justin ended his interview and John took over.
‘14 minutes past 7. Tens of thousands of students have had their visas curtailed by the Home Office and sent back to their countries over the past three years and hundreds of colleges have been closed down.’
It was time.
‘I’m joined by Julie Allen of the UK Council for International Student Affairs’. He looked up. ‘Good Morning to you.’ I heard my voice say, just as I heard thousands of interviewees say every morning on the Today programme, ‘Good Morning, John’. I had just said good morning to John Humphrys live on air!
Dominic had given me some good advice. ‘Have three clear points you want to get across’, he said, ‘you won’t get to say everything but just keep three clear points in your head’. We discussed what UKCISA wanted to say.
John asked about the figures – 100,000 – was that a lot? Point 1. Curtailments don’t equate to students having done anything wrong and being kicked out – many students have to leave for ordinary reasons, some even because they need to leave and come back for re-sits. But crucially, those numbers also include no shows. Curtailments also include students who obtained Tier 4 visas but never even came to the UK. Do we know how many? The Home Office don’t separate the numbers out.
Next John asked about 'bogus colleges' being closed down for telling lies. Point 2. We can’t really talk about bogus colleges anymore. He mentions the Panorama programme. The Home Office has been criticized for their follow up to this and I’m aware that the Home Affairs Select Committee has asked for an investigation but how do I explain that? I say something about scrutiny of this and he moves on. I get to explain that the requirements for sponsors are tight. Furthermore, all the colleges who had their licences revoked had been quality assured and inspected by the Home Office who had approved them as legitimate and fit to host international students.
John returns to 'bogus colleges' – are there crooks out there? Point 3. I want to say that our concern is for the students who are studying at institutions who lose their licences, that we can’t comment on the quality of institutions or why the Home Office closed them down but the students are not to blame. It is very difficult if not impossible for them to find another place in the UK within the 60 days they are usually granted (the fact that they are granted 60 days is evidence that the Home Office don’t suspect them of wrong doing, otherwise they would be curtailed with immediate effect) The majority will lose the fees they have already paid to these institutions and they will return home to tell their friends that the UK is not a good place to study. I don’t manage to say any of this and only manage to say that our concern is for students who have done nothing wrong. While I’m not able to articulate what I want to say, John looks at his papers and looks at the clock. How much longer have I got?
John continues with the 'bogus' line. There are lots of young people who come to this country who have no intention of studying, aren’t there?
I hadn’t anticipated having to talk about ‘bogus’ students –not even the Home Office talk about this anymore - but I manage to explain that the system is not easy to navigate and that students have to jump through lots of hoops to obtain a visa. I didn’t manage to mention credibility interviews, or the large number of genuine students who are refused visas on very subjective grounds. But then I managed to get in point 3 – that the students have to go through a complex process to obtain a Tier 4 visa and the system is so complex that many of the colleges who have lost their licence may well have been tripped up by mere technicalities.
John nods. ‘Julie Allen, thank you very much’
Justin takes over. ‘The time 18 minutes past 7’. My 4 minutes of fame are finished.
I gather my papers. They are covered with words and numbers:
• The Higher Education Better Education Regulation Group in 2013 estimated that Higher Education institutions spent £67 million pounds administering Tier 4.
• A Home Office Premium Account Manager costs £8000 per year
• The 3 sponsor guidance documents run to 178 pages, the SMS guidance runs to 301. The rules have changed 33 times and the sponsor guidance has changed 24 times since the points based system was introduced in 2009.
• Sponsors have to ensure that the student visa refusal rate does not go higher than 10%, that enrolment rate is at least 90% and retainment is 85%
• In the Chancellor’s Autum statement he said he wanted to increase the number of international students coming to the UK by 55,000.
• In their 2013 report, International Education: Global Growth and Prosperity, The department for Business, Innovation and Skills estimated that international students contributed £10 billion to the UK economy and they aimed to grow the number of international students coming to the UK by 15-20%
• In the same report, BIS described the Tier 4 visa system as ‘robust’ and stated ‘we must show that the UK values international students, will provide a warm welcome and support while they are here’
The challenge of having a nuanced immigration debate in the UK is huge.
John opens the door to let me out of the studio. ‘It was very nice to meet you’ I say. And I mean it. This has been a fascinating experience.
The relaxed man in the green room is Martin Wroe and he’s here to do Thought for the Day. I pour a coffee and sit down beside Martin, watching John and Justin continue with the programme. I'll have that cinnamon danish now. Martin’s going to talk about the positive side of ageing and tells me that the average life expectancy in the UK has increased by 20 years in the Queens’ lifetime. Now that’s an interesting statistic.
You can listen to the episode of Today on the BBC Today website