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Rediff.com  » News » In UK, education earns as much as oil

In UK, education earns as much as oil

April 21, 2004 18:51 IST
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Education has become one of Britain's most important export industries,  reports the Times, London.

The paper cites a government funded report by Geraint Johnes, Professor of Economics at Lancaster University, which said the economy earned £11 billion annually from "exports" of tuition for foreign students, training, examinations, publishing, and educational programming. 

 "That places education in the same league as exports of oil and financial services, which earned Britain £14.3 billion and £13.6 billion in 2002, according to figures from the Office for National Statisics.  It is also slightly ahead of the British car industry, food beverages and tobacco, which earned £10 billion in exports. Education also dwarfs exports of ships and aircraft, at £6.5 billion, while computer services earned the country only £2.6 billion," the Times said. 

The paper also quoted another study, released yesterday by the British Council and Universities UK, which said demand for higher education could triple the number of foreign students at British universities to 870,000 by 2020. "Britain could earn £13 billion a year from international students in higher education by 2020 in addition to the £3 billion they currently contributed to the economy," it said.

 According to Johnes, Britain now has a quarter of the market in foreign students, with 270,000 enrolled in its universities and contributing an average of £16,000 a year each in fees and living expenses to the economy, it said.  

 "The British Council study, titled Vision 2020: Forecasting International Student Mobility, concluded that the total could rise to 511,000 by 2020 if Britain maintained its present track record for recruitment.  However, student numbers would rise to 400,000 by 2010 and to 870,000 in 2020 if both the country and its universities were promoted more aggressively in fast-growing new markets," the paper said.

According to the Times, "demand was rising quickest in Asia, with annual growth in student numbers forecast at 15 per cent in China, 13 per cent in India, and 12.6 per cent in Pakistan. Chinese students alone would outnumber those from the whole of the enlarged European Union of 25 states by 2020." 

"Some 145,000 students could be studying in Britain by then, compared with 43,000 now, making China by far the biggest and most lucrative single market for British education.  India would become the third-largest market with 30,000 students, as many as France and Germany combined," it said. 

 

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