Thousands of overseas students under deportation threat

Thousands of overseas students on Thursday faced possible deportation from Britain after the government stripped a London university of its right to sponsor their visas.Amid alarm at the potential damage to the foreign student market in Britain -- worth an estimated $14 billion (17.7 billion euros, $22.2 billion) -- the government rushed to reassure foreign students that it was an isolated case.London Metropolitan University had its Highly Trusted Status -- which allowed it to sponsor visas for students from outside the EU -- revoked by the UK Border Agency on Wednesday over alleged failings in its procedures.The move means current overseas students have 60 days to enrol on a course elsewhere, with more than 2,000 students facing deportation if they fail to find another university, according to the National Union of Students (NUS).The union warned of catastrophic effects on Britains industry for educating students from overseas -- almost 300,000 non-EU students were enrolled in Britain in the 2010-11 academic year.The university said on its website: The implications of the revocation are hugely significant and far-reaching... Our ABSOLUTE PRIORITY is to our students, both current and prospective, and the University will meet all its obligations to them.Its vice-chancellor Malcolm Gillies described the accusations against the institution as not particularly cogent and said it would be fighting the governments decision.Immigration minister Damian Green told BBC radio that after an audit lasting six months, the Border Agency found a serious systemic failure where it appears that the university doesnt have the capacity to be a proper sponsor.He said that a quarter of students there lacked permission to stay in the country, while there was insufficient evidence that students spoke English and no proof that half of those enrolled had been attending lectures.But he sought to reassure prospective students that this will not be replicated across the university sector.Professor Eric Thomas, President of Universities UK, said a taskforce had been set to up to attempt to place the students affected with other universities.Our first priority is to support the international students affected by this action to ensure that, wherever possible, they can stay in the UK and continue their studies, he said.Campaign groups claim that student visas have become the back door to Britain, especially for applicants from countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh.A small group of London Metropolitan University students held a protest outside Prime Minister David Camerons Downing Street residence, some with tape over their mouths before police ordered them to move across the street.The NUS labelled the crackdown on London Metropolitan University -- which has 30,000 students in total -- as political, linking it with promised immigration quotas brought in by Camerons government.It said it had contacted the prime minister to express anger at the way decisions have been made in recent weeks and to reiterate the potentially catastrophic effects on higher education... as an export industry.A Border Agency spokesman said: The latest audit revealed problems with 61 percent of files randomly sampled. Allowing London Metropolitan University to continue to sponsor and teach international students was not an option.These are problems with one university, not the whole sector.London Metropolitan is in the top 20 British recruiters of international students, with 6,000 EU and non-EU overseas students in 2010-11, according to government figures.