International student recruitment: It’s (still) complicated

On 20 February, Philip Altbach and I wrote about the chaos in international student recruitment in high-income countries.

Tensions between the need for income from fee-paying international students and that for high skilled immigration on the one hand, and nationalist anti-immigration, security and quality concerns on the other hand, have placed international student recruitment at the centre of political debates in most of these countries, while mid-income countries like China and India, which also have nationalist and security concerns, are actively competing with the Global North to attract international students from Asia and Africa.

We also mentioned that France appears to be an exception to that rule in that it is actively recruiting international students, both through French-taught programmes and English-taught ones.

The article by Maina Waruru of 25 April confirms this.

French policies for diversification

France has always had a unique position among the leading countries hosting international students, in particular those from Africa, thanks to its language in combination with its colonial history.

While Africa was generally relatively marginal in international student mobility for other countries until recently, France was an exception with almost 50% of its international students coming from that region. Algeria and Morocco took the two lead positions, but there was also a high presence from Tunisia, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Cameroon.

While other leading host countries are struggling with their dependence on the traditional main sending countries, China and India, France has received students from a diverse range of countries, but with a dependence on its language and colonial history.

With increasing anti-French sentiments in the region and competition from English as the global language of communication, French higher education has had to look for other markets, and teaching in English has been one way to do so.

China, India and English-speaking Africa, for instance, Nigeria, have become new targets. This, in combination with the cancellation of plans to charge international students higher fees, appears to be an effective way to increase numbers and stay diversified.

And although one can also encounter negative sentiments regarding immigration, international students and the use of English in France, opposition seems to be less strong there than in some other European countries, maybe because the French are more aware about the long-term risks of a reduction in the number of international students for their economy and society, compared to, for instance, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

The Dutch struggle

The fact that four Dutch right-wing parties are taking a long time to come to an agreement on forming a new government is, in that respect, illustrative. Before their win in the elections last autumn, they campaigned against international students and teaching in English under the umbrella of reducing or even completely stopping immigration.

Resistance from the private sector and some local communities, important stakeholders for these parties, has forced them to confront conflicting realities.

The province of Limburg, where the extreme-right party PVV (Party for Freedom) of Geert Wilders is leading, made an appeal to the four parties to allow them to continue attracting international students. For demographic reasons it fears that it will not be able to survive economically without skilled immigrants and without their institutions of higher education (many of their students come from Germany).

The top chip-making company ASML in Eindhoven, the city branding itself as a ‘brain port’ and hosting the Technical University Eindhoven, threatened to look to expand abroad (mentioning France as one of its options) among other reasons because of opposition to skilled immigration and international students plans, and the current government – without opposition from the four right-wing parties – gave in.

The mayor of Eindhoven, Jeroen Dijselbloem, a former social democrat minister of finance, even came up with a proposal to limit the recruitment of international students to universities and programmes which can argue that two-thirds will stay and work in the region (the stay rate of his university is currently one of the few in that range), a plan that at least one of the four right-wing parties seems to embrace.

Although the idea may seem quite unrealistic, if not absurd, it illustrates the complexity and chaos in addressing international student recruitment in the country.

‘Studying in Egypt’

At the same time, more and more countries in the Global South have started to compete for international students. Egypt is a recent example. The Ministry of Higher Education, in coordination with the ministries of civil aviation, culture, tourism and antiquities, and transport, has recently started a campaign, ‘Studying in Egypt’, to increase the already rising number of students from neighbouring countries, offering them scholarships and discounts.

“Egypt has all the ingredients needed to increase the chances for the initiative’s success, including an abundance of universities, the expansion of majors required in the international labour market, and the low cost of living compared to competing countries in light of the decline in the exchange rate of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar,” Abdul-Latif Mahmoud, a professor of educational research at Sohag University optimistically told Al-Fanar Media.

Will the Gaza conflict have an impact?

Although the impact of the conflict in Gaza on international student mobility still needs to be seen, it is likely that the Global North will see a decline in student mobility from countries with a high Islamic population because of their lack of adequate criticism of the Israeli government.

Until 7 October 2023, the results of the US presidential elections were deemed the more likely cause of a decrease (a victory by Trump) or increase (a victory by Biden) in international students from these countries. Now it looks like the election of either will result in a decrease. Islamic countries like Egypt and Malaysia may benefit.

Conflicting realities

In summary, international student recruitment continues to be complicated, influenced by conflicting sentiments, geopolitical tensions and lack of long-term vision. This will be primarily at the cost of the leading hosting countries in the Global North, with possible exceptions such as France.

However, the Global South cannot completely escape from conflicting realities when it comes to international student mobility, as the case of the Philippines makes clear: while the higher education sector welcomes students from China, the Philippine government is extremely concerned about national security, given the territorial disputes with its big neighbour.

Hans de Wit is professor emeritus and distinguished fellow at the Boston College Center for International Higher Education, USA. E-mail: dewitj@bc.edu.