LONDON: Britain should avoid further restricting international student numbers or some universities may collapse, a government commissioned report said on Tuesday, after foreign registrations plummeted for next year.

High levels of legal migration have long dominated Britain’s political discourse and were one of the major drivers for the Brexit referendum in 2016.

Along with care staff and low salaried workers, the government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sought to reduce the number of students coming to Britain, including preventing some post-graduate students from bringing family members.

The Migration Advisory Committee, an independent body which gives the government advice, said the number of international postgraduate students paying deposits to study at British universities this September had dropped by 63 percent, compared with the previous year, after the government put restrictions on education visas.

The report warned that further restrictions on the so-called graduate route, which allows foreign students to work in Britain for up to two years after graduation, would lead to job losses, course closures and a risk “that some institutions would fail.”

Britain boasts some of the most famous and sought after universities in the world, from Oxford and Cambridge to Imperial College London. Business leaders argue that they boost innovation, increase creativity and provide a form of soft power, as many world leaders have studied at British colleges.

The government commissioned the review after concerns that the graduate visa route was being abused. Some British politicians have complained that some students are applying for visas and then claim asylum or overstay.

Esther McVey, a minister in Sunak’s cabinet, said on Monday that some British universities were “selling immigration to international students rather than education.”

A spokesman for Sunak said the government would consider the report and respond. But the spokesman highlighted concerns about the scheme, pointing out that more than 40 percent of international students using the route were either not working or earning below 15,000 pounds ($18,834) a year after graduation.

The Migration Advisory Committee found there was no evidence of widespread abuse specifically for the graduate route. Students from four countries – India, Nigeria, China and Pakistan – account for 70 percent of graduate visas.

British business lobby group, the CBI, said British universities were one of the country’s biggest export successes, and with the Migration Advisory Committee saying the system was not being abused “it’s time to put its future beyond doubt and end this period of damaging speculation.”

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a committee comprising representatives of allied parties to review amendments to Pakistan’s electronic crimes law, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Tuesday, highlighting that the federal government wanted to form political consensus before making changes to the law. 

The government says amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 are aimed at protecting the digital rights of millions of Pakistani users, encouraging responsible Internet use and regulating online content to prevent hate speech and disinformation. Critics say the amendments, like PECA itself, could be used to stifle dissent and free speech. In the past, PECA has been used against critics of Pakistan’s all powerful army as well as governments and cases under the blasphemy law among others have also been filed using the legislation.

Earlier this month, the government notified a new National Cybercrimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to probe electronic crimes, which digital rights activists described as yet another attempt to stifle online criticism of the state. The NCCIA was approved by the caretaker government-led federal cabinet last year to take over cybercrime investigations from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Addressing the media on Tuesday, the law minister said the draft legislation has been sent to the federal cabinet for approval after being drafted by the IT ministry according to Article 19, which deals mainly with freedom of speech.

“Despite this, the PM was of the view that a political consensus was necessary for legislation, the cabinet also agreed to the premier’s view,” Tarar said. 

“Now he has formed a committee in this regard which will include allied parties including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q), Istehham-i-Pakistan Party (IPP).”

The law minister said allied party representatives would examine the draft legislation and report feedback to the federal cabinet which would then take a final decision.

PECA

PECA was passed in 2016 during the government of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) party, which is once more in power and leading a fragile coalition at the center. 

The law was originally enacted to combat various forms of cybercrime, including cyber terrorism, unauthorized access, electronic fraud and online harassment.

But the law has variously been used to crackdown on journalists, bloggers and other critics of the state. 

The popular social media platform X has been blocked in the country since February when Pakistan held general elections marred by widespread allegations of manipulation and rigging.