Banning visas for the dependents of international students is 'mental', exclaims Sangita Myska caller
1 June 2023, 15:53 | Updated: 1 June 2023, 15:59
'What's the problem with bringing Auntie Flo over?' says this bemused Sangita Myska caller
As university vice-chancellors dub the funding system for higher education as "broken", this caller says it is self-destructive to ban visas for the dependants of international students.
Simon in Hull, was audibly exasperated by the government's plans to ban visas for the dependents of international students as he discussed with Sangita Myska the current higher education model.
International students are to be prevented from bringing family members to the UK while they study here as part of the government's major tightening on migration measures.
The caller told Sangita that he previously worked at Cambridge University and saw people from around the world "queuing up and paying good money to get a Cambridge degree".
He exclaimed: "I think to discourage these people is absolutely cutting our own throats!"
"It's mental to say 'Oh no no we don't want all those guys coming over here and having a university education'.
"We don't dig coal, we don't make steel, the only thing we've got that really makes us prestigious on a global scale is our university education," he claimed.
University vice-chancellors have warned the current higher education funding system is "broken" and have called for the government to review tuition fees.
Simon went on: "I mean gee-whizz if you are studying for an MBA at Cambridge Univesity - I've seen it first hand... those kids work hard!"
He asked: "If they need Auntie Flo to come over with them and make sure they have clean socks in the morning or that there's a hot meal ready for them when they come home at night - you know what's the problem with Auntie Flo?"
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