The Times - UK (2022-01-26)

18 Wednesday January 26 2022 | the times

News

The number of new Chinese students

enrolling at British universities fell for

the first time last year, while soaring

numbers from India came over to study.

The decrease of 5 per cent, the first in

more than a decade, could herald a

cooling in the surging demand in China

for a British education, experts said.

The figures from the Higher Educa-

tion Statistics Agency (Hesa) also

revealed that more than a third of

graduates — 36 per cent — were given

a first-class degree last summer, one

percentage point higher than the previ-

ous year and up from 16 per cent in 2011.

Office for Students, the regulator,

warned universities about the increase

in top degrees, saying: “Ensuring that

qualifications stand the test of time is

crucial both in ensuring that students

know that their efforts are properly and

accurately reflected in their degrees,

and in preserving the integrity of our

higher-education sector.

It added: “We must be careful to en-

sure the results of the pandemic do not

bake grade inflation into the system.”

The Hesa figures relate to the 2020-

21 academic year and show that the

total number of higher education stu-

dents stood at 2,751,865, an increase of

9 per cent. The number of first-year

postgraduate students rose by 16 per

cent, while the number of first degree

entrants rose by 8 per cent.

The number of mature students had

increased after a period of decline and

there was a 13 per cent growth of first-

year students from the UK, compared

with 4 per cent from other countries.

While China still provided far more

students than any other country, the

number of its first-year students fell

from 104,240 to 99,160 this year. The

number of first-year students from

Demand for a

UK university

education

cools in China

India rose by 27 per cent to 53,000, with

growing numbers thought to be attract-

ed by changes to post-study work visas.

Critics have said some UK universi-

ties are over-reliant on the lucrative fees

paid by Chinese students and warned

that greater diversity was needed.

Tom Tugendhat, the MP who chairs

the foreign affairs select committee,

said in response to the figures: “It’s im-

portant that our universities are begin-

ning to diversify international student

recruitment, instead of relying on one

authoritarian country.”

Julia Pamilih, director of the China

Research Group, which was set up by a

group of Tory MPs, warned that rising

anti-western sentiment in China could

be feeding through to student numbers.

However, the downward turn might

also be attributed to China having very

strict Covid-19 policies that made it dif-

ficult for students to leave and re-enter

the country, she added.

Jo Johnson, the former universities

minister, said having one in three inter-

national students from outside the EU

coming from China “represents a sig-

nificant risk to the financial resilience

of the UK higher education system and

our wider knowledge economy.”

Universities UK, which represents

vice-chancellors, welcomed the wider

growth in international students. add-

ing: “Data suggests students from

China may have been more likely to de-

lay” their study plans because of Covid.

Andrew Lewer, chairman of the all-

party parliamentary group for inde-

pendent education, said: “I would be

surprised if the deteriorating political

atmosphere between China and the

UK... has not had some impact on stu-

dent numbers. It would be sensible for

any educational establishment... not to

over-base its financial security on stu-

dents and support from China.”

Nicola Woolcock Education Editor

TASOS KATOPODIS/GETTY IMAGES

R

eliance on fake

snow will make

the Beijing

Winter

Olympics more

dangerous for athletes

and the threat will

increase as more resorts

lose natural snow cover

due to climate change,

according to researchers

(Ben Webster writes).

The Beijing Games,

which starts next week,

will be the first Winter

Olympics to rely almost

entirely on artificial

snow. Olympic skiers and

snowboarders warn that

the substance creates

harder, faster surfaces,

with solid ice forming on

halfpipes and jump

take-offs and landings.

Loughborough

University says in a report

that climate change is

reducing the number of

venues with reliable

natural snow.

Of the 21 venues used

for the Winter Games

since the first in

Chamonix in 1924, it says

that only ten may have

sufficient natural

snowfall levels by 2050

and six by 2080.

Chamonix in the

French Alps is one of the

venues that may have

to rely on artificial

snow, along with Squaw

Valley in the US,

Vancouver in Canada,

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

in Germany, Sarajevo in

Bosnia and Sochi in

Russia.

Laura Donaldson, a

freestyle skier from

Scotland who competed

in the 2002 Winter

Olympics, told the

researchers that if

“freestyle superpipes

are formed from

snow-making machines

in a poor [natural snow]

season, the walls of the

pipe are solid, vertical ice

and the pipe floor is solid

ice. This is dangerous for

athletes. Some have died.”

The report notes that

artificial snow is almost

30 per cent ice and 70 per

cent air. Natural snow is

closer to 10 per cent ice

and 90 per cent air.

The report calls for

more transparent

assessments of the

environmental impact of

relying on artificial snow.

It says 49 million gallons

of water are expected to

be used to create snow

for the games in Beijing,

which already suffers

from water shortages.

Chemicals can be

added to enhance the

quality of artificial snow

and they may damage

wildlife, it adds.

The report says that

while the 2022 Winter

Olympics will be watched

and enjoyed by millions

worldwide, it “should also

provoke a debate about

the future of snow sports,

and the limits of

engineering artificial

natural environments”.

Fake snow

is fraught

with danger,

Beijing told

The Beijing Games, which

start next week, will be the

first Winter Olympics to rely

almost entirely on fake

snow, prompting safety and

environmental concerns