Nation's revised visa rules will not affect most important group: master's degree students

The comments made by Earle Gale ("Replace welcome mat for students", April 11) about Britain's new visa regulations are clearly expressed, but could be open to misinterpretation.

As an academic from the University of Reading currently in China, I would like to reassure METRO readers that the "welcome mat" is still in place at my university and all others I know of. The doors to education in the United Kingdom are wide open for good Chinese students. That's why I am here in Beijing, to talk to potential students.

The clear aim of the UK's new policy is to encourage the best students to study there. The majority of Chinese students are those who wish to study for master's degrees. So, let's look at this group.

There is a need for good English. Some universities require level 7 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), while others accept 6.5. Yet, Chinese students know they need a high level of English to be successful. For most Chinese students, it's much cheaper and more logical to study for the IELTS examinations in China rather than the UK. This is what most students do, with perhaps a top up in Britain for a month or so before study starts.

These students also need to have good academic backgrounds. Most of Britain's top universities require at least an average of 80 percent in core subjects for bachelor's degrees, and often from good universities. These are all good students and the fact is the UK welcomes them to come and study.

A key point made by Earle Gale is that "Britain made a huge mistake" by clamping down on post-study work (PSW) visas. In principle, however, I think China would agree that students who attend Fudan University in Shanghai or Oxford in the UK do so to study, not work. Britain's Tier 4 PSW visa was extended from one year to two by the previous Labour government only a few years ago. I'm certainly in favor of students having an opportunity to experience the workplace, but it's not easy for Chinese students to compete.

At most 10 percent of Chinese students on degrees that I run currently gain some form of employment in the UK, and often they have worked in similar positions in China before. So the number of Chinese students who work after graduation in the UK is not large. It is true, as Earle Gales says, that the numbers likely to get work visas in the future will be small, yet that will be at least partly due to the great competition there for jobs in the UK. Chinese students certainly need to be capable, distinctive and able to compete with students from the UK, European Union and other countries for every vacancy.

In my university we encourage students to begin looking for graduate work within three weeks of their entering. This gives them the best chance of being offered a job during the October-December period, which is when most of the best opportunities are available. It also allows them a second bite of the cherry during the next peak period, as most visas expire at the end of December after graduation. This means students actually have a year to find a suitable graduate-level appointment.

Such students should be capable of gaining a job that pays about 20,000 pounds (213,000 yuan). Some employers do offer lower amounts, but my advice is to insist on at least the usual minimum graduate package.

Earle Gale says that the changes "beggar belief", but the changes are not as negative as he paints for the most important group of Chinese students: those studying for master's degrees.

When it comes to his question of why the second most popular destination for overseas students would want to stem the flow, the answer is that Britain does not wish to stem the flow of good students coming to study. In fact the reverse is true. I'm here to attract more good Chinese students to study at my university.

We're proud of every Chinese student on our program. They are among the very best we attract from more than 30 different countries.

The author is head of postgraduate studies for the school of management at University of Reading's Henley Business School in the UK. To comment, e-mail metrobeijing@chinadaily.com.cn. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of METRO.