Scotland’s red carpet for Indian students

Napier University Admission 2007

Scotland’s red carpet for Indian students

Cynics say scheme amounts to a “pay–as-you-go” immigration policy

Edinburgh: In the battle for cash-bearing overseas students being fought in British universities, Scotland is targeting India aggressively. A scheme offers possibly the ultimate prize to those who choose to read at a Scottish university; a chance to settle in Scotland.

The rather grandly named Fresh Talent Initiative allows any fee-paying international student to stay on and work in Scotland for up to two years without a visa or work permit once he or she graduates from a Scottish university. Government agencies will even help find jobs. Cynics say this effectively amounts to a “pay-as-you-go” immigration policy.

“Work doesn`t have to be related to your studies, and you can even be self-employed”, a glossy government brochure suggests. And, dangling more carrots, it adds; to qualify for the visa-free-permit-free regime “you do not have to show that you have stayed in Scotland for the full period of your studies…”. No worries if you do not like to rush the decision: you can take up to 12 months to make up your mind whether you want to seize the “opportunity” to work in Scotland.

Open doors

Meanwhile, you can go back to India, think it over and if you conclude that, yes, the wind-and-rain-swept Scotland is the place for you the doors would still be open. There is more: “At any time during the two years, your employer can apply for a longer work permit for any employment based in Scotland”.

The scheme, launched in June 2005, is being promoted as a high-minded enterprise to bring “skills” and diversity” to Scotland. But critics say it is really about “luring” foreign students who pay up to 10,000 a year for a course at lease three times more than what their domestic peers do. Like all clever scheme, this one too follows the money.

One skeptic likened it to “Sainsbury` s [the super marked chain] two-for-one offer” buy a place in a Scottish university, and get free access to the job market.

In England it is seen as a brazen bid to undercut English universities, traditionally the preferred destination for students from the Indian subcontinent and other former colonies. With Scotland deciding to lay out the red carpet, it is likely that a lot of students who may have planned to go elsewhere will now be tempted to settle for Edinburgh, Aberdeen or St. Andrew` s universities. Some Indian students The Hindu spoke to confirmed that the incentives being offered by Scotland gave a competitive edge to its universities.

“I would have come here in any case because the business management institute where I studied in India is affiliated to this university but, yes for many the Fresh Talent Initiative could be an incentive to choose a Scottish university”, said Pankaj Ganpatlal, doing hotel management at Napier University.

An admission

Steven Ssymoszowskyj, a Scottish Executive official closely involved with the scheme, admitted that English universities were “un happy” about it. He also acknowledged that persuading the Home Office to agree to a visa-waiver only for Scotland was not easy.

He insisted it was not about making money from international students, but he sought to explain why the scheme was linked to universities and restricted to overseas students. If its was simply about attracting “skills and ideas” why was it not open to anyone who had suitable qualifications and wanted to come and work in Scotland

Asked why students from other parts of the U.K. were not eligible for FTI, he said it would mean fewer places for foreign students.

Some 75 per cent of those who joined the scheme have already got jobs. Indians and Chinese lead the pack. Of the 2,600 successful candidates, 737 are from India and 738 from china.

But clearly the Scottish Government thinks the programme requires more aggressive marketing. It is planning a major promotional campaign in India in February. Presentations are planned in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore.