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In her speech at September's Conservative Party conference, Theresa May cited with pride that the annual number of overseas student visas issued by the UK government had been cut by more than 115,000.
Such pronouncements – new policies coming thick and fast under May's tenure as home secretary – ring loudly in the ears of international students like me. So, too, do the calls of other policymakers about higher education being a major source of capital for the UK economy. According to the government's own figures, of the £17bn that education provides to the UK economy, £10bn comes from international students.
There has been outcry over the way changes to international student visas are putting off potential students from choosing UK universities. But in all the debate, a fundamental flaw in Home Office policy has been overlooked. Why are legitimate international students like me being prohibited from working part-time while my fellow international students at public universities are allowed to work up to 20 hours a week?
This is a relatively new stipulation of the Working Rights for International Students (WRIS) policy and the reason for it seems far from logical. Is this a case of discrimination against international students at privately funded universities? GSM London holds the same Tier 4 rank as any other publicly funded university, yet our visas say "work prohibited" while theirs stipulate a maximum of 20 hours per week during term time. We are even barred from doing voluntary work, let alone internships.
Experience outside classroom teaching hours is an important means of rounding out a degree and preparing for life post university. Just as UK employers look favourably on CVs that show a breadth of workplace experience, companies in international students' home countries want the same. Our social life is also being hit. Just being invited to a fellow student's birthday party can be stressful as I feel the need to check my bank account before going.
A part-time job for even 20 hours a week will mean that we can earn while we learn. A little work experience will go a long way in personal finance terms and also ensure the experience we need to secure a full-time job back home after graduation. A part-time job acts as a stepping stone to something bigger in our lives. We can also put any savings we can scrape towards tuition fees to ease the burden on our parents.
The job could be anything from working in a call centre to waiting tables in a restaurant. It is roles like this that build a sense of professionalism and work ethic, whatever your future career path. A plain prohibition on working part-time clogs our earning sources and restrictsour chance of getting a well-rounded education. Graduate employers want applicants with job experience – these are the applicants who qualify for interview, making the government's WRIS policy all the more unfair.
I don't want to be treated specially or different from international students at public universities, but on an equal footing. I appreciate that in the past, there was an issue of so-called 'bogus colleges' enabling people to obtain student visas in order to work in the UK illegally. But earlier this year in one of her many policy pronouncements, Theresa May said this issue had been dealt with and such 'colleges' shut down.
My higher education institution works in partnership with a number of publicly funded universities, but its students are treated unfairly simply because it is not publicly funded. The government promotes privatisation of the higher education sector under the banner of providing "greater choice for students", whether British or international.
All students should have the same opportunities as well as choice. The government's stance pushes the sector towards privatisation and yet private university students are the ones being negatively affected. Again, I would ask, is this just a case of discrimination?
Ketan Kishor Parmar is an international student from India at GSM London – follow it on Twitter @GSMLondon
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