One of the most prevalent topics in the news at present relates to Britain’s membership within the European Union (EU). On 23rd June, the UK will settle a question that's been rumbling close to the surface of British politics for a generation: should the country remain within the European Union, or leave the organisation and go it alone. Politicians from all parties and positions are campaigning as part of either the ‘Leave’ or ‘Remain’ campaigns. Leave campaigners believe Britain is being held back by the EU, which they say imposes too many rules on business and charges billions of pounds a year in membership fees for little in return. Those campaigning for Britain to stay in the EU say the UK gets a big boost from membership; it makes selling things to other EU countries easier and, they argue, the flow of immigrants, most of whom are young and keen to work, fuels economic growth and helps pay for public services. 

Whether or not Britain would be better off in or out of the European Union depends on which way you look at it, or what you believe is important. A UK exit vote would have both pros and cons on many key topics, such as immigration, trade and economy, sovereignty and laws and education and research. 

Here we take a closer look at how leaving the EU could potentially affect the education sector. 

Higher education 

University vice-chancellors have warned that leaving the European Union would hit the economy, harm scientific research and damage graduates’ job prospects, should the UK vote to leave it EU. They feel that membership of the 28-nation state has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on the standard of higher education and has helped to cement the strong global reputation of Britain’s universities. Universities UK notes that there are 125,000 EU students at British universities, generating more than £2.2bn for the economy and creating 19,000 jobs, while 14 per cent of academic staff come from other EU nations.

However, leaving the EU would allow universities to charge EU students higher fees. This would bring an end to UK taxpayers subsidies for students coming in from Europe. Moreover, a vote leave outcome would mean no more entitlement to UK government fee loans of up to £9,000 a year for EU students, unless the UK decided to sign up to the European Economic Area, membership of which currently gives nations’ students equal access to UK fee loans. On the flip side, being a member of the EU gives British students access to schemes such as the Erasmus Programme, which allows British students to study abroad. Leaving the EU and restricting immigration to the UK by EU citizens may see the abolishment of the freedom of movement act, and subsequently the opportunity for British students to study abroad in EU member states. 

Ultimately, universities and students would most likely lose out. Universities are concerned about their research funding, but the government would save money on student finance. All universities in the UK have spoken out against Brexit. 

Research
 
Those advocating staying in the EU believe that exiting would have a negative impact when it comes to research programmes. Leaving the EU could, according to “in” campaigners, restrict the number of researchers and students coming in to the UK, as well as restricting the number of British students who wish to study in Europe. This could in turn, reduce the strength of British universities. Funding from Brussels is worth £1bn a year, boosting the quality of research, benefitting the economy and helping British academics to tap into a continent-wide pool of knowledge. 

Those campaigning ‘leave’ suggest that only 3% of total research and development in Britain is funded by the EU and the UK will be able to increase funding to this area out of the savings from not paying for EU membership. Moreover, Britain could set its own immigration policy which could fast track British scientists and graduates.