The number of students from EU countries at British universities has more than halved following the UK’s exit from the EU, which came into effect in 2021.
The reason is that Brexit has made it more expensive for EU citizens to study there, he reports Guard.
The decision to leave the EU means that benefits such as housing support and study funds are no longer available to new students from EU countries, the paper wrote.
Especially students from Italy, Germany and France who have stopped applying to British universities.
– The significant decline shown in first-year student enrollments from the EU can be attributed to changes in fee eligibility, wrote the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in a report.
Before Brexit, students paid housing tax of around £9,000 per year and could also apply for student funding support. After Brexit, fees increased to £38,000 per year.
The number of students from the EU enrolling in the first year of a bachelor’s or master’s program was 31,000 in 2021. In 2020, the year before Brexit came into effect, the number was 66,680.
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