Brexit uncertainty creating anxiety for British students
16 March, 2019
It bills itself as Britain’s European university because of its study centers in France, Italy, Belgium and Greece. But now the uncertainty over Brexit is creating anxiety for students at the University of Kent.
There is disappointment and anger at lawmakers as they wrangle over Brexit details as the deadline approaches for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union.
For students, just about everything is uncertain: funding levels for international students, freedom to study at their campuses in Europe and the right to live and work in the 27 other EU countries that generations of students have taken for granted.
Omolade Adedapo, a politics student who is a vice president of the Kent Union, says the lack of clarity about the Brexit plan has meant “a lot of anxiety for students on campus” because of the unknowns.
“There is an uncertainty about what is going to happen when we leave, what’s going to happen to students studying here, what’s going to happen to European students if they want to come here to the U.K.,” said Adedapo, 21. “And it’s just very, very confusing at the moment.”
The lack of information also is clouding matters for British students planning to study in Europe.
James Osei-Anane, a student adviser at the union, said Brexit will likely cost him a chance to study abroad. He is still hoping the plan can be stopped, which remains a possibility if Parliament cannot agree on a withdrawal deal.
“If we do leave the EU, I will not be able to just go and study there, go and work there,” he said. “I think it is very much a wasted opportunity if we do leave, and I very much don’t want to leave.”
The university is unable to offer any information to students concerned about options and fees.
Prof. Jeremy Carrette, the university’s dean for Europe, said the implications for tuition, visas and health service are not yet known.
“The system is unclear, and until we have a clear position from our government and from the EU, that will remain unclear,” he said.