A new report from the Higher Education Policy Institute has uncovered a troubling issue in UK universities: many international students are graduating without meeting the necessary English language standards.
This problem is particularly severe in Master’s programs, where the lack of English proficiency significantly impacts students' ability to participate effectively in academic discussions and coursework.
Professors from Russell Group universities, who wished to remain anonymous, have voiced serious concerns about the situation. They report that many students in their Master’s classes struggle with essential communication, often relying on translation apps to follow along. “We regularly encounter students who can’t even respond to simple questions about their readings,” one professor noted. The professors attribute this crisis to long-standing underfunding, a market-driven focus on financial gain, and a heavy reliance on high-fee-paying international students to boost university revenues.
The report also questions the effectiveness of foundation courses and the IELTS tests, raising doubts about how students with poor English skills pass their degrees. With educational standards slipping and the commercialization of higher education on the rise, the findings underscore growing concerns about the future of academic quality in UK universities.