2015年经济学人 留学生 一个世界级品牌没落之路

Overseas students

How to ruin a global brand

Foreign students are going off English universities

BRITAIN'S private schools are one of its most successful exports.

The children of the well-heeled flock to them, whether from China, Nigeria or Russia:

the number of foreign pupils rose by 1.4% in the last year alone.

One headmaster recently asked a room full of pupils whether they flew business class to Britain.

Only a few hands went up, suggesting they were not quite as cosseted¹ as he had thought.

Then a boy explained: many of the pupils fly first class instead.

Yet foreign students, whether educated in British private schools or elsewhere,

are decreasingly likely to go to English universities.

According to the Higher Education Funding Council for England,

307,200 overseas students began their studies in the country in 2012-13,

down from 312,000 two years earlier and the first drop in 29 years.

Student numbers from the rest of the EU fell—probably a result of the increase in annual tuition fees in England from 6,000 (10,000) a year to 9,000.

But arrivals from India and Pakistan declined most sharply.

In contrast to the visa regime for private schools, which is extremely lax

(the Home Office counts private schools as favoured sponsors) student visas have been tightened².

Foreign students used to be allowed to work for up to two years after graduating.

They now have only four months to find a job paying upwards³ of 20,600 if they want to stay in Britain.

This change was intended to deal with sham⁴ colleges that were in effect offering two-year work visas.

But it seems to have put off serious students too.

Nick Hillman of the Higher Education Policy Institute says the government has sent unclear messages about the sort of immigration it wants to restrict.

An emphasis on holding down net immigration deters⁵ young Indians and Pakistanis in particular.

Australia and America, which have more relaxed entry criteria⁶ for students, are becoming more favoured destinations.

Colin Riordan, Cardiff University's vice-chancellor, adds that Britain's student-visa regime has become more onerous⁷ and fiddly overall.

As a result, Britain is losing out to other countries in the contest for talent—an oddity,

given how often the prime minister bangs on about the “global race”.

Its unwelcoming stance will harm its long-term prospects⁸.

And the drift of foreign students from leading British private schools to American colleges may have another,

somewhat happier, consequence: America might become rather better at cricket.

1 cosseted   

v.宠爱，娇养，纵容( cosset的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Our kind of travel is definitely not suitable for people who expect to be cosseted. 我们的这种旅行绝对不适合那些想要受到百般呵护的人。 来自辞典例句
• We are, by astronomical standards, a pampered, cosseted, cherished group of creatures. 按照天文标准，我们是一群受宠过头、珍爱有余、呵护备至的受造物。 来自互联网

2 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

3 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

4 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

5 deters   

v.阻止，制止( deter的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The filth here deters all but the invited guest. 这里污秽不堪，除非有事，外人是裹足不前的。 来自辞典例句
• Many people believe that capital punishment deters crime. 很多人相信极刑能阻止犯罪。 来自互联网

6 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

7 onerous   

adj.繁重的

参考例句：

• My household duties were not particularly onerous.我的家务活并不繁重。
• This obligation sometimes proves onerous.这一义务有时被证明是艰巨的。

8 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。