Saudi Gazette report Contractors remove furniture for disposal from the city campus of London Metropolitan University, Thursday. — Reuters LONDON – Many Saudis are among more than 2,000 foreign students who face possible deportation from Britain after their university was stripped of its right to authorize visas. London Metropolitan University lost its “highly trusted status" because a survey found more than a quarter of its foreign students did not have permission to be in the country, Immigration Minister Damian Green said Thursday. There are more than 20 Saudi students attending programs at the university, according to the university website. “I am studying Business Law and Management at London Metropolitan University and have just completed my first year. Now my parents and I are extremely worried about what is going to happen after hearing the news," Danish Ashraf, a student from Riyadh, was quoted as saying by BBC. “I don't know if any other university will accept me for the second year and I feel it's pointless doing my first year again. I spent around £10,000-£11,000 on my first year and I had no idea this was going to happen," he said. The current overseas students have 60 days to enroll on a course elsewhere, otherwise they will be deported, according to the National Union of Students (NUS). The union warned of “catastrophic" effects on Britain's industry for educating students from overseas, which was estimated last year to be worth £14 billion (17.7 billion euros, $22.2 billion). Almost 300,000 non-EU foreign students were enrolled in Britain in the 2010-11 academic year. The university said on its website: “The implications of the revocation are hugely significant and far-reaching... Our ABSOLUTE PRIORITY is to our students, both current and prospective, and the University will meet all its obligations to them." Immigration minister Damian Green told BBC radio that after an audit lasting six months, the Border Agency found “a serious systemic failure where it appears that the university doesn't have the capacity to be a proper sponsor". He said that a quarter of students there lacked permission to stay in the country, while there was insufficient evidence that students spoke English and no proof that half of those enrolled had been attending lectures. But he sought to reassure prospective students that “this will not be replicated across the university sector". The government had formed a task force to assist current students whose visas are set to be revoked, he added. London Metropolitan is in the top 20 British recruiters of international students, with 6,000 EU and non-EU overseas students in 2010-11, according to government figures. It said it was working closely with bodies including the Border Agency to try to resolve the problems. – With agencies
