Among the political and economic uncertainties that revolve around Brexit, the education system and those directly affected by it have long been posed with many challenging questions regarding its impact on education.
On January 31, 2020, the UK withdrew from the European Union, and the phenomenon is commonly known as “Brexit”. For the year 2020, the UK will remain in what is known as the transition period and in 2021, a new relationship between the UK and EU will commence. The main issues being talked about in apprenticeship news are the changes in education after Brexit, including that of the effect of the end of free movement, the impact on international students, the effect on Erasmus, languages, among more.
- School Education
While it is being viewed that Brexit will not significantly affect the school education, there have been considerable concerns regarding the need to reboot the schools by 2021, with the plans addressing the disruptions in the import of food, medicines, or medical devices.
- Future Of Erasmus
Erasmus is a scheme of the EU that allows students of further studies and universities to study in countries of the EU other than their own. Until 2020, the UK will remain in Erasmus, but if it can’t continue with it in 2021, the government has promised to initiate its own student exchange programme. The effect on Erasmus will be significant because more than UK students study abroad through this scheme.
- Fees For Foreign Students
Earlier, the students from the EU studying in the UK paid the same fees as UK students, being eligible for “home fee status”. This will continue for 2020-21, but from December 2020 onwards, the fees for all foreign students including those from the EU shall increase. Also, students wishing to stay in the UK after December 31, 2020, will be required to file an application for the “EU Settlement Scheme”.
- Post-study Work Visa
Those international students, who hold a Tier-4 visa and are enrolled at an institution in the UK from September 2020, can stay there after graduation for finding employment. Also, there were rules allowing PhD students to remain in the UK after completing their graduation.
- Impact On Researchers And Scientists
Other significant reports in the apprenticeship news need to be highlighted are the signs that lesser scientists from the EU are coming to the UK now. The government has stated that a new “fast-track visa route for elite scientists and researchers” will be brought into action. This will involve removing the limit on numbers of some Tier-1 visas.
Moreover, the UK’s participation in the Horizon programme from the next year is also under shrouds of uncertainty. It is an almost 70bn pounds programme of the EU for funding research and innovation.
Although the Government has stated that they are not essentially leaving behind the collaborations with the EU, the anxiety among those whose futures are at stake continues to rise. The education sector thus might experience further upheavals than those being contemplated as of now.