UK academics rap gov’t over visa bid

More than 160 British academics have slammed the UK government for pressuring universities to check the immigration status of their students.

In a letter published by the Guardian newspaper on Sunday, the group protested what it described as being used as an extension of the UK border police, saying the move undermines the trust between students and their universities.

Those who signed the letter, including members of Oxford, Warwick, Durham and Sheffield universities, accused the Home Office immigration agency of harming the academic freedom of universities.

According to the group, British universities have come under more pressure to prove that their students are legitimate after London Metropolitan University briefly lost its trusted sponsor status in 2012.

The status is necessary for all academic institutions seeking to recruit students from other countries.”

The letter also called for an end to the monitoring of the students and urged equal treatment for students from the UK and the European Union (EU) as well as non-EU students.

“Since then, universities have been preoccupied with managing accountability demanded by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI – formerly the UK Border Agency), and in effect have become its proxy,” the letter read.

Mette Berg, of the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at Oxford University, said academics have been asked to monitor students’ situation, including their attendance.

“We have a duty of care towards our students, and there is an issue about this undermining the trust between tutor and student. We are not there to be proxy border police,” said Berg.

In addition, Nicola Pratt of Warwick University, said students should be judged on the basis of their academic merits not their visa status.

In response, a spokesman for the Home Office defended reforms to the student visa system, saying the measures had made the application process more rigorous and less open to abuse.