Overseas Students in the UK Refusing to Pay Tuition Due to Poor Online Teaching

The outbreak of Covid19 has created global health and economic crisis all over the world. It has also mounted a massive impact on the quality of teaching and students’ experience.

Many international students in the UK have now denied paying their tuition fees acknowledgements to inferior online teaching.

Amid Covid19 restrictions, international students in the UK are obliged to learn virtually. As an outcome, the students have started missing university experience, which is a part of which they have paid.

Overseas students in the UK refuse to pay tuition fee

International student tuition fees cost around £10,000 a year or more. Therefore it’s not a surprise that students are unhappy with the quality of teaching due to Covid19. However, local students pay more economical costs and can get cheap loans from the ministry to pay tuition expenses.

With the end of the Brexit transition period, EU students not already on a degree level course, will in many cases, have to pay total overseas student charges.

As the Brexit transition has ended now, overseas student tuition fees can be significant, easily costing about £10,000 a year or more. It is therefore not unusual that students are unhappy with the quality of teaching due to Covid19.

However, local students pay lower fees and can take low-cost loans from the government to pay tuition fees. With the end of the Brexit transition period, EU students who are not already on a degree level class will now have to pay complete overseas student fees.

Many international students have refused to pay their tuition fees at the School of Oriental and African Studies, amounting to £18,630 per student per year for freshman courses. The same is the case for Goldsmiths, where tuition fees range from £16,390 to £22,950 at the undergraduate level.

Petition for calling off tuition fees

Overseas students have started an online campaign and additionally started a petition, requesting the UK government to compensate international students for lack of physical teaching. It has reached 30,000 signatures in a matter of days as many UK universities are incompetent to refund students, those who have signed the petition hint at the government to compensate.

In an open letter to Michelle Donelan, the Minister of State for Universities, the activist group Pause or Pay the UK called for a financial bailout the same as those earlier given to cultural institutions.

Breaking visa regulations

Higher education institutions are broadly affected by the non-payment of tuition fees by international students. The institutions have warned those denying to pay are at chance of being reported and deported for breaching the terms and conditions of their student visa.

On the other side, international students are holding their ground, stating that deporting people will ruin the impact of UK universities globally and would discourage other international students from coming to the UK in the future.

Flexible student visa

UK Visas and Immigration in September 2020 declared flexibility for student visa applicants amid the Covid19 outbreak. Students were given the option to apply for a visa six months before travelling to the UK. Unlike previous rules, they could not apply until closer to their course start date.

While UK Visas and Immigration allowed students to take courses remotely, criticisms about the teaching standard have started rising.