Steep rise in Chinese student numbers

The number of foreign students from outside the EU studying at Scotland’s universities has risen by more than 11% in the past year, new figures show, with the biggest rise in students from China – a 33% rise from 4,680 to 6,145, writes Chris Marshall for The Scotsman.

Information released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency showed there had been a 1.7% fall in UK students at Scottish institutions from 2009-10 to 2010-11. In contrast, the number of students from the rest of Europe and those from outside the EU has continued to rise. According to the statistics released last week, the number of EU students from outside the UK has grown by more than 2%, while the rise in non-EU students was 11.2%.

Universities Scotland, the umbrella organisation representing the country’s universities, said that while the figures on foreign students were “encouraging”, changes to the immigration system brought in by the UK Border Agency meant the number of foreign students was likely to fall away again.
Full report on The Scotsman site