On Saturday, Theresa May government unveiled new plans of increasing post-study work period and making it easier for Indian and non-EU students to find work. The plans have been made to boost education-related growth after Brexit from £20 billion to £35 billion per year by 2030.
However, the plans included in the International Education Strategy do not go so far as to accept the sector demand to revive the two-year post-study work visa that was popular with self-financing Indian students, but was closed in 2012. Since then, a major drop can be witnessed in the number of Indian students coming to the UK, though new figures have shown a small rise.
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The current post-study work period of four months which has been allowed to the post-graduate students on one-year Masters courses will be extended to six months. The existing one-year period for PhD-level students to find work after course completion will remain the same.
The strategy has identified four high-value regions for growth in the post-Brexit scenario, which include China and Hong Kong, the ASEAN region, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. India is one among the ‘potential growth regions’.