London: English language schools in UK
on Friday won a High Court battle over new visa curbs, that were
alleged to be damaging to their commercial success, a measure
to check immigration from India and other non-EU countries.
The legal case was brought against the new regulations
that stipulate that students entering the UK to study must
have a good standard of English.
The new rules were announced as part of the coalition
government`s measures to curb illegal immigration from India
and other non-EU countries.
English UK, which represents 440 language schools,
says the regulations are "disproportionate and unjustified".
The language schools said the restrictions would
result in the loss of thousands of jobs and millions of pounds
in foreign earnings.
Before the High Court verdict, Tony Millns, chief
executive of English UK, had said: "It`s clearly absurd
requiring students to know English before they come here to
study it."
His group brought the case on technical grounds by
arguing that the Home Office should have brought the issue
back to Parliament for proper debate.
Justice Foskett declared the fresh restrictions had
been achieved through altering guidelines when there should
have been a formal change to the rules, with the matter
referred back to Parliament.
After the verdict, Millns said: "I am delighted and
relieved. We are pleased that Mr Justice Foskett saw the
merits of our case and we believe that his decision is good
for the UK economy, to which the English language sector
contributes about 1.5 billion pounds in foreign earnings each
year."
The Home Office said the student route was being used
by illegal immigrants and migrants seeking low-skilled work.
A spokesman said: "We are carefully considering this
judgment. This government is committed to undertake a review
into the Student Tier of the Points Based System in its
entirety later this year to ensure that every student who
comes to the UK is genuine."
PTI
