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International students are charged unfairly high tuition fees at UK universities

As clearly stated in the title, this debate aims to resolve the never-ending issue and might as well name it as a predicament for all the International Students in the UK. They face a VERY BIG discrepancy, when it comes to tuition fees they have to pay, compared to ordinary Home Students. Is it reasonable to charge them almost triple the fees of a Home Student? Will it be fairer if the charges are to be made income-based rather than putting weight on residency and nationality issues? Education is for all; as far as everyone is concerned, it knows no race, colour or even tax history… Remember, this debate aims to evaluate all sides of the argument and present a concrete reason as to why these International Students should or should not be charged that amount… This is not to create a barrier or any sort of division among the Home and Foreign students, after all, education knows no limitations.

All the Yes points:

  1. Education transcends international boundaries
  2. “TAX” THE WAY IT IS…
  3. VERY SIMILAR YET VERY DIFFERENT
  4. Canada’s rates are higher
  5. Need for money or exploitation?

All the No points:

  1. UK students should have priority to UK Universities
  2. We need the money
  3. International student do not contribute to the economy of the UK

Education transcends international boundaries

Yes because…

Yes, I don’t really believe that this point was used to justify high tuition fee

– “We are preveliged to had our predecessors ruled forein countries and made the all the wealth.”

– “As a famous dicoverer of human genetic material said, we are superior human beings in this world.”

Counter-arguement

– “About ruling foreign countries, Most of the times English people took undue advantage of hospitality by citizens of colonies. In some eastern countries where a Guest is considered next to God, English people came and started ruling. People showed hospitality and in return they got slavery from UK.

– ” Superior race’ I hope you meet me in person so that you can explain me how you became superior race. I believed that origin of human being is from Africa and theory of evolution says that the we all came from Africa. But I am not sure if there is any chance that some people in Uk believe that they evolved separately in an Island compared to rest of the people.

And based on these idiotic ideas if high tuition fees are justified then I dont believe that the education is worth taking.

kind regadrs

How do you then explain my situation. Born in England, parents took me to Canada when I was 11. returned to England at 18. I am being charged full International fees and despite not being able to pay I am unable to have my status changed. Scholarships are for non British. Who am I and where was I born?

No because…

No because;

Why not education is a business.

And our economy substantially depends on foreign people and their money.

If they are happy to come; why shouldn’t we celebrate by charging them the amount that we need to get our bread and butter and sit idle at home on our backs.

We are preveliged to had our predecessors ruled forein countries and made the all the wealth.

As a famous dicoverer of human genetic material said, we are superior human beings in this world.

“TAX” THE WAY IT IS…

Yes because…

Most of the Home students and their families would argue about the fact that Tuition Fees cannot be equally laid down for both International and Home students simply because of the TAX they have been paying all throughout their lives. Glancing at their reasoning might make you say YES, THEY HAVE GOT A POINT! But looking closer at the issue will open your eyes to the blatant reality that is being ignored, and unseen. This argument could have been forceful if we were talking about twenty or thirty years ago, but looking at the current status quo, it is not. Most of the benefit seekers or those being supported by the social welfare fund are, obviously, the English nationals. They have the rights to claim and claim as much as they want, leaving the social burden on those who actually work, normally 3-4 jobs per person, and pay tax without getting anything back except for endless deductions and other miscellaneous contributions. Most of these hardworking individuals, who pay taxes NOW more than BEFORE, are foreigners. Even the INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS themselves are forced and obligated to work and juggle study and job in one go, just to finance and support their education. Here’s one funny but annoying truth… these international students are TAXED very highly because most of them are doing part-time work and still CHARGED very high in university fees because they’re foreign. Meanwhile another student, who’s jobless and has parents who are claiming disability or jobseeker’s allowance are paying normal fees. Well, if that’s the case, its better to change the basis for fees from nationality to income and financial stability!

No because…

VERY SIMILAR YET VERY DIFFERENT

Yes because…

Right, granted, an equal charge for fees is not feasible. Can these International Students get something extra with the 5000 pound more that they’re paying? AS USUAL, NO! If the government and these universities cannot level the tuition fees between International and Home students, why not provide the former some extra service like free English classes, tutorials or books? One of the most depressing realities taking place at the moment is that, after all those astronomical payments, these International Students have to pay whenever they want to perfect their English and learn more of the language, THEY STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. It’s like another service, another expense, another problem, MONEY AGAIN! International and Home students are getting exactly the SAME MODULES, SAME TUTOR, SAME SERVICE, SAME FACILITIES, SAME LEARNING CENTRE HOURS, SAME BUS SERVICE, SAME VENDING MACHINE, SAME TOILETS, SAME ID CARD… but there is a £5000 difference separating the millions of similarities between them. Unfortunate but true!

No because…

Canada’s rates are higher

Yes because…

International students pay 5x the tuition domestic students do.

Good thing I’m a Canadian.

No because…

Need for money or exploitation?

Yes because…

International students are definitely charged unfairly high tuition fees in the UK. It’s unbelievable how far they’re willing to push international students to get their pay. Although i do agree that local students should be given preference, but that doesn’t mean charging international students prices so high that they’re liable to be bankrupt soon after. If they want to cover up their little mischief by saying that its their land and their universities, or be rational and say that the recession can be hindered by the fees, it still doesn’t make sense to exploit international students to such an extent. The UK has some of the best universities i can think of, but this is outrageous! Charging fees that are near impossible to meet without the risk of losing everything. If you recall, one of the members of the board of education left the meeting and as he left he said ” You’re going to regret this change “. That was when they began charging ridiculously high fees, and while there are some who are willing to put up with it, there are millions of people dreaming of going to one of the UK universities, who can’t simply because of the fees, and if you’re going to scream ‘ student loans! ‘ in my face, its not going to do you any good. The student loans seem more like a bear trap if you ask me. The best the UK can do at this point is lower the price for international students at least down to a point where if you were to compare the local and international fees, the word racism or exploitation wouldn’t reach your head on first sight.

No because…

Presumably international students don’t consider it exploitation or else they would not come to the UK to study. International students almost by definition have a lot of choice about what university they go to, they are not being forced to come to LSE to be exploited, instead they could go to Monash, or Yale, or even a university in their own country!

If these students do go elsewhere then presumably the universities would lower the fees in response (though now that they are getting up to 9k off domestic students they may not consider getting money off international students so important).

UK students should have priority to UK Universities

No because…

The most common answer… a street response to a very crucial issue.
Indeed, this is their place and this is where they live, therefore it is just fair and equal to charge Home Students a lower fee compared to International Students. After all, the latter were given already the opportunity to live and settle in a place that is not theirs, use the country’s resources and services, and share with the real inhabitants the benefits provided by the government. The fact that they were welcomed into the country is a big blessing; it is too much then to ask for more and more, especially if it concerns major aspects of living like education.

Yes because…

In my opinion, UK has always been unfair. They ruled Asia. It was unfair indeed. They took gold from the developing countries to build their Universities, the towers, the bridges. UK has a history, and quite bloodshed.

Now turning to Education here, UK universities indeed charge unfairly to International Student. They dont take into account that International Students dont come into same category. For instance, for an American Student, or a student from any other developed country, the International fees are not an issue. But what about those talented bunch of students who are not that rich?

Local people should get a preference; thats right. Its their native country and they should get the benefits. But, intellectually both the native student and international student has to be on the same level. If a dumb person is ripping the benefits just because he is a local person, then it becomes Unfair.

Not a great deal of Surprise though. Basically, they need money. And they are not strong enough to rule the world again. So universities are good sources of their economics.

The argument against the yes seems to be under the impression that those attending University in the UK are moving here to reside. Most international students are just here to study. It’s not that their own educational institutions were poor or lacks, but that they wanted learn about a different culture or society. Get a greater world perspective to help them in their studies. High tuition rates do not encourage international students to study abroad. I am a student form the US and to study here for a year is costing me more than the previous 3 years combined. I don’t see what justifies this discrimination. I applied for my Visa, paid my fees, I speak English so there is no need for a translator or special assistance, in fact my impact on this university is nothing different than any other student attending. Essentially what is seems to come down to is that universities are underfunded and only have tuition rules in regards for national Students because the government doesn’t care about foreigners (and doesn’t really care for their own citizen for the most part)… no government does. So they keep the tuition high cause they can. It is incredibly unfair, immoral, and unjust. But governments don’t care about that, and education is essentially a business so anyone with an interest in studying abroad should bend over and learn that tensing only makes it hurt more.

Of course fees are a big issue for people from developed nations.. you think everyone’s money is worth the same amount?

We need the money

No because…

The cost of higher education in the UK is far greater than the amount a UK student pays.

Without the higher fees that come from international students, UK students would be paying a lot more than they are, which would be bad for several reasons.

Firstly, it would lower the numbers of UK students who go to university, particularly from poorer backgrounds. Education is the best way to get out of poverty, so keeping poor people out of education is self-evidently a bad thing.

Secondly, and consequently, it would lower the number of graduates in the job market. Graduates are an increasingly valuable resource in our economy, which transformed to a predominantly service-based economy (with manufacturing outsourced to e.g. China). Having lots of graduates is a good thing for the British economy.

Thirdly, it would push taxes up as the government would need to find money to pay for higher education from somewhere else. A high tax burden is not a good thing for a country, as it means the general populace has less money to spend on the goods and services that keep the economy buoyant.

Because higher fees from international students keeps the cost down not only for UK students but indeed the UK taxpayer, this ‘discrepancy’ should remain.

Yes because…

So this argument is like the one you see for slave labour in other countries. Abuse the minority in order to benefit the majority.. does that seem right? If the Universities do rely on international students so much, then why keep their tuition so high? High tuition in comparison to one’s own country and it’s tuition rates would encourage them to stay where it is cheap. Personally if I wasn’t required to study abroad for my degree, I wouldn’t. Some people seem to be under the assumption that those who study abroad must be rich or well off. Most of use are taking on insane amounts of debt to attend university. Just like every other student.. except that to study abroad it tends to be 3-5 times more.

Why not hold those in charge of the state budgets responsible for the lack of funding in higher education? Education is indeed very important, but if one considers that Universities grossly underfunded.. wouldn’t that suggest that the government doesn’t find it all that important? Governments don’t care about anything else than what will get them the most money in the short run, that’s why international students get screwed, cause there are not laws protecting us from being taken advantage of for being foreign. Racist bastards!

International student do not contribute to the economy of the UK

No because…

International students will, most likely, go back home after they finish their studies. Once they start work, they will contribute to the economy of their home country using the skill they gained in the UK. Which means that the UK has trained a student who has not given anything back in return: tax, years of hard work etc. Charging a higher tuition fee is one way of balancing the books!

International students also do not pay any tax in the United Kingdom so they are not entitled to receive anything in return. If the charges are unfair then they should be subsidised by their home nation where their parents and ultimately they will pay tax.

Yes because…

have u ever think about what you are using in this modern life to make your life easier than 100 years before? And do you think every thing was invented in your country UK? A quality product or the student can return back to the home country, this is the right fact but what about if he invent anything new? Isn’t this a contribution for whole mankind? If anyone invents any new in his home country who had studied in university of UK then it will be the name and fame of the university and UK also, Don`t you think this is the contribution? And tax is paid by every individual of the country while doing any task for eg: lodging and fooding also contributes to the economy of the country by any means the tax is paid any how then how can you say that international do not contribute to the economy of the country?

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Educated fool
12 years ago

Most of the points raised against international students paying too much to study in the U.K. come from racists and people with very limited knowledge and inferior grammar. For example, where on earth did that person who read about “The british people being a superior race to others?”. I really lolled hard at that because Steven Hawkings will “mental-slap” that person if he ever met them! God knows what “genetics” articles they have been reading. lol

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