The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Students has called on government to make changes to the International Education Strategy (IES) as part of its next review.

In a letter to Secretaries of State on 19 January 2023, Co-Chairs Lord Karan Bilimoria and Paul Blomfield comment on progress to date against the strategy’s ambitions and set out key recommendations to maximise the potential of the UK’s education exports sector.

It is hoped that a future review of the IES will incorporate:

• A more ambitious but sustainable target for international student growth, building on the success of the UK surpassing its original target of 600,000 international students. Any new target should be underpinned by a commitment to diversification, encompassing all international students and not just those participating in higher education.
• The removal of international students from net migration figures. Given that the majority of international students return to their home country on completion of their studies, they should be treated as temporary migrants.
• Cross-departmental engagement, including the Home Office, Department for Education (DfE), Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and Department for International Trade (DIT), to ensure coherence in the processes spanning the student journey and in the support provided across all aspects of the international student experience.
• A return mobility scheme for international students to study in the UK, alongside a progress report on the Turing Scheme, to better facilitate student exchange.

Read the full letter [PDF]