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<p>The student migration system we inherited was too weak, and open to wide-spread
abuse, damaging the UK’s reputation as a provider of world-class education. The National
Audit Office reported that in 2009/10 up to 50,000 students may have come to work,
not study.</p><p>We have clamped down on immigration abuse from poor quality institutions
selling immigration rather than education, and since 2010 we have struck off more
than 920 bogus colleges. Visa applications for the further education sector, where
abuse has been most prevalent over recent years, are down 75 per cent compared with
2010.</p><p>At the same time, we have maintained a highly competitive offer for international
students who would like to study at our world-class institutions. This is borne out
by the figures: visa applications from international students to study at British
universities are up by 16 per cent since 2010, whilst visa applications to our world-leading
Russell Group institutions are up by 39 per cent since 2010.</p><p>We will continue
to reform the student visa system to tackle abuse and deliver an effective immigration
system that works in the national interest.</p>
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