Education: Restricted Entry in New World

 

Education: Restricted Entry in New World

Deepak Razdan

1 June, 2025

Education is following the path of trade in the New World. It is turning restrictive and giving up its openness in national interest. The United States, at the centre of the New World, has taken the lead in this. It has the United Kingdom and Canada among its early followers.

US President Donald Trump announced the new trade tariffs and restricted the US market to only those countries which accepted them. The US Administration is now putting into practice conditions on which foreign students can join US universities.

The Trump administration is weighing requiring all foreign students applying to study in the US to undergo social media vetting. The administration wants to make sure the students are coming for genuine academic interests and not to further their previous associations with political movements.

In his inaugural address in the US Capitol on 20th January this year, the President said “the golden age of America begins right now.” He said from this day forward, “we will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer.”

Referring to the state of affairs when he assumed the US Presidency for his second term, he said “we have an education system that teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves — in many cases, to hate our country despite the love that we try so desperately to provide to them.  All of this will change starting today, and it will change very quickly.”

Mr Trump said foreign students were to blame mainly for the situation in some of the top universities of the country like Harvard. He said the Ivy League university was given a lot of federal funds, but was a disappointment.

To restrict foreign students from getting admission in US universities, the US Administration has asked US embassies the world over to stop accepting student visa applications.

The US State Department has also begun to aggressively revoke visas for thousands of Chinese students in the United States. The visa cancellations focus on the students who have connections to the Chinese Communist Party or those studying in critical university fields.

Announcing the action, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.”

China has an estimated 270,000 students studying at American universities. US security officials allege Chinese students are being used by the Chinese Communist Party to obtain US research, intellectual property and technology that can be later used by the Chinese Army.

The US has more than one million foreign students, contributing nearly $43.8 billion to the economy, and supporting nearly 400,000 jobs in the country. India has 331,000 students in the US, more than China. Visa decisions in the US are being taken on national security considerations.

Following up the US, the British government released on 12th May its White Paper on Migration: “Restoring Control over the Immigration System” containing proposals to control immigration, including “study immigration.”

Releasing the proposals, Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his fear that if immigration remained uncontrolled, the UK would soon become an island of strangers.

The UK government’s While Paper on immigration suggested exploring a levy on the universities' income from international student fees. This was intended to make it harder for universities to keep their licences to sponsor student visas by introducing tougher compliance rules.

The proposals included reducing the standard length of the Graduate visa for international students to stay on and work in the UK from two years to 18 months. Rules for recruitment agents and sponsoring institutions are proposed to be made stricter.

The UK government proposes to increase the minimum pass threshold for each Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) metric by five percentage points — for example, requiring a course enrolment rate of at least 95 per cent and a course completion rate of 90 per cent in order to pass the compliance threshold.

Outlining the Canadian government’s policies, King Charles III in his Speech from the Throne to open the 45th Canadian Parliament on 27 May said “Canada’s immigration system has long been a source of pride for Canadians and of dynamism for the economy. The Government is dedicated to rebuilding the trust of Canadians in immigration by restoring balance to the system.”

On the tighter immigration policy, the King said “the Government will cap the total number of temporary foreign workers and international students to less than five per cent of Canada’s population by 2027. By doing this, the Government will attract the best talent in the world to build our economy, while sending a clear message to Canadians working abroad that there is no better time to come home.”

Ever since Mr Trump announced his new tariff system, most economies, particularly US allies, have shown tendency to follow the US on major policies like immigration. European Union members also believe the educational route was misused for immigration purposes and some EU countries are considering restricting student visas.

The US President had, outlining his government’s priorities, stated the excess flow of foreign students was denying admissions to domestic students, who could benefit from education in good universities and secure good jobs.

Fortunately for research students, Germany has offered placements in German universities. But Europe is in the midst of security issues and struggling to get clarity on its economic status because of US tariffs confusion.

Military conflicts, trade war and now educational exclusivity – does not the present age represent night in the world we live. Nations shutting borders for security, nations crossing borders for security and nations redrawing borders for security!

Lecturing in China a century ago, Rabindranath Tagore said: “There are some people, who are proud and wise and practical, who say that it is not in human nature to be generous, that men will always fight one another, that the strong will conquer the weak, and that there can be no real moral foundation for man’s civilisation.”

Times can change any moment. “As the early bird, even while the dawn is yet dark, sings out and proclaims the rising of the Sun,” the poet had said, giving hope of change.