Strict immigrations rules for students visa forces UK private colleges to shut down

The British government’s introduction of stricter immigration rules for foreign students has seen the number of foreign students fall substantially, putting many colleges and groups of colleges out of business.

Following a decline in the student population, the number of private colleges forced to close down has increased to almost half in just a year. Figures revealed by Wilkins Kennedy, an accountancy firm, say that some 169 educational institutions shut down in 2011, which showed a sharp increase compared to 117 in 2010.

Experts claimed that many of the closures apparently related to private language colleges and institutions offering specialist business courses, The Telegraph reports. Following the introduction of tough new controls, on foreign students as a way to cut down on migration, the number of insolvencies in the education sector increased by 44 per cent last year, compared with a three per cent rise in other corporate insolvencies over the same period.

The firm said all closures involved international higher education colleges providing courses in areas such as languages, IT and management.