Jonathan Ashworth
Main Page: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Mr Willetts
Again, my hon. Friend has a long-standing commitment to this. He describes exactly the type of innovation we hope to see as we liberalise the system. We very much wish to encourage the American model of two-plus-two courses, whereby someone may do two years at a community college and then move on to do one or two years on an honours degree at a university.
Jon Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab)
Does the Minister agree that higher education should be one of our greatest exports? Over many years, thousands of students have come over to study at the two universities in Leicester, yet with his comments on contact hours, the mess over student visas and the cuts to the teaching budget, more and more international students will choose institutions in Australia, Singapore and the USA instead of the UK. Is he not concerned about that?
Mr Willetts
There certainly is growing international competition for students. Higher education is becoming more of a global market. I am confident that British universities, with high standards and no limit on the number of legitimate overseas students, will continue to attract many overseas students.