UK: 'Xenophobic' students shun foreign universities

British students may be shunning foreign universities because of "innate xenophobia", according to a report, writes Graeme Paton for The Telegraph. Research published last week suggests that Britain's "history of colonial mastery and insularity" could be preventing people taking higher education courses abroad.

Students from white, working class backgrounds are particularly unlikely to consider studying overseas because of negative attitudes towards "immigrants, foreigners and the wider world outside the UK", it was claimed. A lack of enthusiasm for overseas study can also be blamed on the quality of UK universities, stopping students opting for relatively inferior institutions overseas.

The conclusions were made in a study jointly commissioned by the government's Higher Education Funding Council for England and the British Council. According to figures, 370,000 foreign students attend British universities every year but as few as 33,000 home students take courses overseas.
Full report on The Telegraph site