UK-bound Indian students face tough road ahead as British pound hovers near one-year high

With the British pound rising rapidly and racing to touch a one-year-high, UK-bound Indian students this year are likely to face a tough road ahead.

One GBP is now valued at ₹110.95, thus inching closer to its one-year high level, reported Reuters.

When the year 2024 kicked off, one pound was valued at ₹105 a unit, and in the first six months, it fluctuated between 100 and 105 before hitting ₹108 in July (Source: XE.com).

In the past month, the British Pound Sterling has been rising continuously and hitting fresh new highs every other day or week. For the past couple of days, it has been trading in the range of ₹110-111 a unit.

For one unit of the pound, an increase of ₹5 leads to a substantial difference when the entire year’s cost of education is computed. An average British university charges £20,000 for a one-year course. And when you calculate living expenses for the entire year to the tune of £12,000, the total cost rises to £32,000.

And when you factor in a jump of ₹5 on every unit of pound, the total cost rises to ₹1.6 lakh. This means studying in the UK is going to cost an extra ₹1.6 lakh only on account of fluctuation in currency (i.e., GBP-INR) price.

Here we explain how a small fluctuation in currency price can burn a hole in the pocket of Indian students studying in the UK this year.

We take three options here: the pound is valued at ₹111, 105 and 110.

Option I: The pound is valued at ₹111: When the pound is valued at ₹111, the total cost for a regular course at a British university for one year is ₹35.52 lakh. At a premium university, this cost will be higher by another 10,000 pounds, thus further adding to the financial burden by ₹11.10 lakh. The total cost then becomes ₹46.62 lakh.

Option II: The pound is valued at ₹105: When the pound is valued at ₹105, the total cost comes to ₹33.6 lakh. At a premium university, the cost is an extra 10,000 pounds, thus adding to the financial burden by ₹10.5 lakh. The total cost, therefore, becomes ₹44.10 lakh.

Option III: The pound is valued at 100: When the pound is valued at ₹100, the total cost comes to ₹32 lakh. At a premium university, the cost will go up by an extra 10,000 pounds, thus adding to the financial burden by ₹10 lakh. The total cost, therefore, touches ₹42 lakh.

It is noteworthy that Indian students opting for the UK as their higher education destination have started declining, with around 21,000 fewer master’s degree applicants in 2024 than the previous year, and there is a 23 per cent fall in Indian students coming to the UK for higher studies, reveals the home office data until June 2024.

In another development, Prime Minister Keir Starmer-led government in the United Kingdom is looking to curb overseas hiring by information technology, telecom and engineering companies.

Changes in the UK visa rules could impact the aspiring Indian professionals in these sectors who have been among the top users of work visas.