more-inThe British government’s insistence that a substantial number of non-EU students overstay their visa faced further questions on Thursday, as the statistics regulator warned that estimates did not “bear the weight that is put on it in public debate”. The government had been relying on International Passenger Survey (IPS) data gathered at airports and other departure points, which is published by the ONS. Its most recent estimates suggested that as many as 90,000 non-EU students could be overstaying their visa. Last year, the Times reported that a government study that showed just 1,500 individuals, or 1% of international students, overstay their visa had been buried as it threatened to “undermine [Prime Minister] Theresa May’s case for a crackdown on foreign student recruitment. The number of Indian students fell to 16,745 in the year 2015-16 from 29,900 in 2011-12.

Source: The Hindu July 27, 2017 15:57 UTC