May 30 2023

The United Kingdom is considering restricting Nigerian students from traveling with their families.

Worried by the high influx of migrants, the United Kingdom is set to announce new restrictions that will stop Nigerian students and other nationalities studying in the UK from travelling with their families. According to a report by The Sun UK, the crack down, which will see all masters students and many other post graduates banned from bringing family over. “Rishi Sunak is expected to come out fighting on immigration – pointing out they are figures he inherited as they date back to the year ending December 2022 – two months after he became PM.” “There has been an explosion in the number of people coming to Britain piggybacking on their relative’s student visa. However, the ban will not apply to PhD students, whose courses usually last between 3 and 5 years and are very highly skilled. According to data obtained from Home Office last year, Nigerians accounted for the highest increase in the number of dependants accompanying persons with study visas for the year ending in June 2022. “In the year ending June 2022, there were 486,868 Sponsored study visas granted (to both main applicants and their dependants), 71% (202,147) more than 2019,” the report read. “The number of Sponsored study visas granted in the year ending June 2022, is the highest on record in our time series, with the substantial increase representing both a recovery from lower numbers during the Covid-19 pandemic but also an increase on the pre-pandemic period. There were 117,965 grants to Indian nationals in the year ending June 2022, an increase of 80,569 (+215%) compared to 2019. Chinese nationals were the second most common nationality granted Sponsored study visas in the year ending June 2022, with 115,056 visas granted, 4% lower than the number seen in 2019 (119,825). “In the other top 5 nationalities, Nigerian nationals saw the largest relative increase in Sponsored Study grants compared with 2019, increasing by 57,545 (+686%) to a record high of 65,929, making them the third largest nationality group in the latest year.” According to Daily Mail, Nigeria represented 40 percent of the total number of dependants between June 2021 and June 2022, and “some 34,000 Nigerians were given study visas in the UK, bringing with them a total of 31,898 dependants”.

May 30 2023

EU Parliament Backs Calls For Switzerland to Rejoin Erasmus+ Program

The European Parliament has expressed support for calls for Switzerland’s membership in the EU’s student exchange program Erasmus+ Media reports say that the Culture and Education committee is preparing an opinion to include in a Parliament report on the EU and Switzerland relations, which indicates the benefits Switzerland’s association with Erasmus brings to both sides. Members of the Parliament have voiced concerns about students, claiming that politics should not interfere with education. For many years, Swiss and international students have advocated for full membership of Switzerland to Erasmus. Students across Europe have also been vocal about the matter. In 2020, a petition from the Swiss Student Union collected more than 10,000 signatures, demanding the reintegration of Switzerland into the program . Earlier this year, the European Students’ Union (ESU) called on the EU to differentiate politics from education, pointing out that students should not be used as “bargaining chips.” In a press release issued on February 16, ESU said that Switzerland’s withdrawal from the Erasmus program harmed equal opportunities for youngsters in Switzerland compared to their European counterparts. “It is crucial to promote mobility between Europe and the rest of the world without forgetting the immediate neighbourhood: that is why establishing a framework of mobility cooperation Switzerland is paramount, and that needs to be decoupled from non-related political negotiations: students cannot be used as bargaining chips,” the statement also noted. The European Students’ Union highlighted figures showing that the lack of participation in Erasmus has cost Switzerland with many projects in which it could not take part between 2014 and 2020. Negotiations on a cooperation framework between Switzerland and the EU fell apart in 2020. The latter did not oppose Switzerland’s association to the program but insisted it should not happen until both sides resolved tension in the relationship. EU-Swiss relations in this regard worsened after the latter withdrew from negotiations on the framework. Switzerland has not been a full member of the Erasmus program since 2014 due to its vote in favour of an anti-immigration move against the free movement agreement with the EU. Nonetheless, it remained a partner country of the program. However, since then, Switzerland has launched its program as an interim solution, funding thousands of exchanges for Swiss and EU students.

May 30 2023

Germany Implements a Series of Reforms to Make Nursing Studies More Attractive

In a move aimed at making nursing studies more attractive as well as addressing the current challenges, the German government has passed the draft of the Nursing Studies Strengthening Act. This legislation introduces several reforms to increase the attractiveness of nursing studies, including simplified recognition of foreign qualifications and a training allowance for students, “The study should become more attractive so that more people choose a career in nursing: With the Nursing Studies Strengthening Act, the federal government closes loopholes in the training allowance and strengthens the attractiveness of academic nursing training,” the statement of the German government reads. One of the most important aspects of the new law that the German government has decided to introduce is the provision for financing vocational nursing training. The nursing course that is designed as a dual course of study will now grant nursing students a sufficient training allowance throughout the whole duration of their programme. Such a change will ensure that all nursing students are being supported financially as they gain the necessary skills as well as experience and become part of the working force in the country. Moreover, students who have already begun their university nursing training under the previous regulations will also be eligible to receive the training allowance from the government for the remaining period of their studies. This will ensure that current students will not be left behind, and they will also get to benefit from the new regulations. In addition to the above-mentioned, the government explains that the Nursing Studies Strengthening Act also addressed the recognition of foreign nursing qualifications obtained abroad. The legislation aims to simplify as well as standardise the recognition procedures for nursing professionals from other countries by regulating the scope of required documents for the recognition process. Moreover, the act also proposes alternatives to equivalence tests, such as adaptation courses or knowledge assessments, this way facilitating the integration of foreign nursing professionals into the healthcare system of Germany. “The recognition procedure for foreign nursing professionals is to be standardised and simplified. In particular, the scope and required form of the documents to be submitted are to be regulated by federal law,” the government stated.