Government Deal with Brazil for University Funding

David Willetts has been in talks with the Brazilian government to arrange a deal to welcome 10,000 fee-paying Brazilians to study in the UK. The universities minister flew to South America last month in a bid to plug the gap in university funding.

The deal could see the Brazilian government providing up to £18,700 per student and will be highly lucrative following the cuts in state funding. Universities UK said it welcomed the plan which promised “rich rewards”.

The plans could be unwelcome to students up and down the country following the publication of recent figures suggesting that 220,000 UK and EU students will be unable to get a university place this autumn. However it has been stated that Brazilians will not be allocated places that would otherwise be available to UK and EU students.

Is it right to fund UK university education through foreign nationals?