Fight Against Police-like Surveillance of International Students in the UK

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    Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex
  • Sponsored By:
    The University of Essex student and staff community
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With the supposed aim of strengthening its borders and protecting them from illegal immigration and employment flows, Britain introduced a series of new rules and technologies including the point based system for international students in 2008. Under this system, international students are named in the 4th tier, coming after the highly skilled, skilled and low skilled workers in the list. According to the requirements of this system, just like employers, all educational institutions including universities are required to register with the UK Border Agency to become a licensed institution to fulfil their tasks. According to these new rules universities are expected to monitor international students on whether they enrol in their courses and attend their classes, while reporting this information back to the UK Border Agency (UKBA).
We, as students at the University of Essex, have strong concerns regarding the above mentioned new system which will have direct effects on students, academic and administrative staff and our university as well.

- Although it has been recently declared by the University Registrar that any steps taken to comply with UKBA rules will be applied to all University of Essex students, we are concerned that the application of these rules will trigger discriminatory consequences that will impact on international students by imposing differential treatment between EU and non-EU students.

- We want the University of Essex to make an official statement that as a university they find this system illegitimate and unacceptable on the grounds of human rights and civil liberties even if the university has already signalled that it will comply with the system. We want their assurance that any kind of discriminatory outcome under this system will be strictly avoided in favour of all students.

- We want the University of Essex to disseminate information to all of its students and staff about the new system and to make it clear how they are going to implement these new rules without infringing anybodys rights and what the requirements will be for its students and academic staff. Since we have some concerns regarding the monitoring of attendance of research students, we want the university to clarify how these new rules will be effective for PhD students.

- As for the academic staff, we expect that the new arrangements will create mistrust in the relationship between students and their supervisors.

- We, as students of this university do believe that the University of Essex owes its long standing reputation and uniqueness in the UK academic world to its being UKs most internationally diverse campus university, with its 40\% international student population. Therefore, we ask the University of Essex to take action against these measures with the collaboration of other universities which might want to take an official stand against this new system and guarantee the free enjoyment of civil liberties and freedom of education to all its students while they pursue their studies under the name of this university.

149 Signatures

  • EVANGELIA ARAOUZOU
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • PhD Candidate/Graduate Teaching Assistant
    • Department
    • Sociology
  • Simona Szakacs
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • PhD candidate
    • Department
    • Sociology
    • Comments
    • It is very important that we do not let this go down WITHOUT A FIGHT!
  • Anca Simionca
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • PhD student
    • Department
    • Sociology
  • Amika Wardana
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Students
    • Department
    • Sociology
    • Comments
    • All Essex Students, Unitied!!!
  • Zahra Khedri
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Student
    • Department
    • Sociology
  • Berenice Ortega Bayona
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • PhD student
    • Department
    • Sociology
  • Nai-Ning Chen
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • student
    • Department
    • Sociology
    • Comments
    •  
  • Carlos Gigoux
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Phd Student
    • Department
    • Sociology
  • Phong Vu
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Student
    • Department
    • Sociology
  • Daniel Figueroa
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • student
    • Department
    • Sociology
    • Comments
    • В
  • Jeff Byrnes
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • student
    • Department
    • Philosophy
  • Cavidan Soykan
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Ph.D Student
    • Department
    • Sociology
  • Marta Favara
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • PhD student
  • bob Watt
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Dr; Head of School
    • Department
    • School of Law
    • Comments
    • Whilst i accept that the University is obliged to operate these dreadful procedures, i do believe that we should make our voices heard in protest.
  • Shahzad Uddin
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Reader
    • Department
    • Essex Business School
  • Anna
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • prospective student
  • Noha
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • student
  • CARLOS ALBERTO RIVERA GARCIA.
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • PhD. Student
    • Department
    • Psychology
  • faizza abla
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • solicitor
    • Department
    • the childrens legal centre
  • ALVARO MARTINEZ PEREZ
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • student
    • Department
    • ISER
  • Livia Fonyodi
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Student
    • Department
    • Sociology
  • Lisa Burscheidt
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Student Library Assistant
    • Department
    • Library
  • Carol
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • student
    • Department
    • psychology
  • Joo-Young Lee
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • PhD student
  • Edzia Carvalho
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Student
    • Department
    • Government
    • Comments
    • В
  • Hana
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • PhD student
  • Audrey Guinchard
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Lecturer
    • Department
    • Law
    • Comments
    • While I can see reasons for a "follow-up" on students who have been delivered visas, the principle is in itself controversial and its implementation is extremely damaging to the trust both teachers and students can expect from each other (without counting the issue of privacy). Democracy is not saved by sliding towards policing everybody.
  • Sufyan Droubi
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • PhD Candidate
    • Department
    • Law
  • Jorge Valladares
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • PhD Student
    • Department
    • Government
  • Gulzat Botoeva
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Student
  • Christine
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • PhD Student
  • Maksym Zherebkin
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • PhD student
    • Department
    • Government
  • Jenny Swanston
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Graduate Teaching Assistant
    • Department
    • Law
  • Elias Tawil
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Postgraduate student
    • Department
    • Computer science
  • Dave Elder-Vass
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Postdoctoral Fellow
    • Department
    • Sociology
    • Comments
    • Treating students in this way seems undesirable from every possible perspective. From the perspective of the student, it treats them as untrustworthy, as potential criminals. From the perspective of the university it imposes an administrative burden for the sake of policing immigration policy which is surely not our responsibility. From the point of view of UK universities in general (and the UK economy) it seems likely to encourage students to look elsewhere for their education.
  • Andreas Pollmann
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Dr.
  • Felix Behling
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Student
  • Latsou Alexia
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Student
    • Department
    • Human Rights Centre
  • manasa
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • student
  • Chiara Lyons
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Student
    • Department
    • Law
  • Vibeke Hansen
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • PhD student
    • Department
    • sociology
  • Yasemin Soysal
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • senior lecturer
    • Department
    • Sociology
  • Fowad Murtaza
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • student
  • Kevin Boyle
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Professor
    • Department
    • Law
  • Elizabeth Mantzari
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • GTA
  • Megan Ward
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • doctoral student
    • Department
    • Sociology
  • Koldo Casla
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • postgrad student
    • Department
    • Human Rights Centre
  • Katy Wheeler
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • PG Student
    • Department
    • Sociology
  • Pete Hills
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • phd student
    • Department
    • Sociology
  • Terry Felgate
    • Position (i.e. student, professor, dr. etc.)
    • Senior library assistant
    • Department
    • Library