College banned from recruiting internationals

St. Patrick’s College in London recently had its license to recruit international students revoked after an investigation by the Quality Assurance Agency.

The investigation revealed that a total of £3.84 million of public money was given to ineligible international students through a student loan scheme in order to recruit more students.

According to Kavin Kanasagabai, a business lecturer at the college, the focus of the college was centered on financial gains and hence aimed to recruit as many international students as possible.

 Warwick is not entirely worth the fees but I’m stuck with paying these exorbitant prices” Sonali Gidwani

While the actions of St. Patrick’s College may have been illegal, the situation has raised questions about whether international students are legally recruited for their higher tuition fees as opposed to sole merit in other institutions such as at universities across the country.

International students often pay tuition fees at significantly higher rates than domestic students and their fees are not fixed at a certain rate, but subject to rise with inflation year on year.

Sonali Gidwani, a first year undergraduate of Philosophy, Politics and Economics and an international student from Hong Kong, commented that the £19,000 she pays in tuition fees were “exploitative and not on par with home fees”.

She added: “Coming here [to Warwick] is not entirely worth the fees but unfortunately for me I’m stuck with paying these exorbitant prices.”