Page 66 - February EW 2024 PDF

International News

forward. In a subsequent article for The New York Times,
she described a brief presidency filled with constant attacks
including death threats, and urged academic colleagues na-
tionwide not to succumb to “the loudest and most extreme
voices in our culture”.
She acknowledged that her critics were able to find
“instances in my academic writings where some material
duplicated other scholars’ language without proper attribu-
tion”, but said she immediately corrected such “errors”, and
“never misrepresented my research findings, nor have I ever
claimed credit for the research of others”.
Yet there is little evidence, says Prof. Ruth, that Prof.
Gay’s critics were interested in that type of attentive analy-
sis. Even her chief critic in the congressional hearing, Elise
Stefanik, was accused by a Democratic colleague of copy- President Macron (right) & PM Borne: second thoughts
ing large portions of a letter she sent to the Harvard, Penn
and Massachusetts Institute of Technology presidents after tively.
the hearing demanding their resignations. Ms Stefanik dis- A joint statement released by France Universites, the
missed the duplication as “something that happens every Conference of Deans of French Schools of Engineering
day on Capitol Hill”. (CDEFI) and several student unions called on Macron
to challenge the law. Alexis Michel, director of the Brest
FRANCE National School of Engineering and president of CDEFI’s
Discriminatory legislation Europe and International Commission, called the return de-
posit a “mark of suspicion” that reflected “a desire to select
FRANCE’S NEWLY PASSED HARD-LINE immi- students through money” rather than merit. “The idea that
gration law will repel international students and candidates for migration present themselves as students
stifle French research, warn education leaders. The to circumvent the procedures is a statistical fiction. CDEFI
controversial new legislation approved by the French parlia- requests the removal of the return deposit and waits for
ment in December, divided President Emmanuel Macron’s the president of the republic to exercise his constitutional
centrist Renaissance party, while the far-right, anti-immi- prerogatives to provoke a new deliberation of the bill in par-
gration politician Marine Le Pen, leader of National Rally, liament,” says Prof. Michel.
heralded it as an “ideological victory”. Both Macron and prime minister Elisabeth Borne have
The Bill includes migration quotas, restrictions on citi- already partially walked back the return deposit measure
zenship for those born in France to non-citizens, cuts to during media appearances, according to Le Monde, with the
migrants’ benefits eligibility and the potential to remove former saying it was “not a good idea” and the latter com-
dual nationals convicted of certain crimes from French citi- menting, “Is this the best system? Not necessarily.”
zenship. Sylvie Retailleau, the minister of higher education and
Despite France’s goal of attracting 500,000 international research, submitted her resignation over the bill, which
students by 2027, the new law contains several measures Macron rejected. France Universites later said the minister
that many fear will dissuade them. To obtain a residence had received “strong commitments” from the president and
permit, students from overseas will have to pay an as-yet prime minister, pledging to overturn “discriminatory and
undetermined “return deposit” to cover potential “remov- ineffective measures” including the deposit.
al costs”. The deposit would be returned when they leave
France upon their permit’s expiration or when they obtain CHINA
a new visa. International students will also have to dem- Accommodation squeeze
onstrate the “real and serious nature of their studies” on a
yearly basis, Le Monde reported, or risk having their resi- RAPID EXPANSION OF POSTGRADUATE enrol-
dence permit withdrawn. ment is forcing Chinese universities to abandon
The legislation also makes higher university registration their “boarding school” model of providing on-
fees for non-European Union students’ compulsory, after campus accommodation for all students.
their introduction in 2019 on a voluntary basis decided by Institutions have long provided subsidised dormitories,
universities. While French students and those from within which cost significantly less than private off-campus op-
the EU pay €170 (Rs.15,470) to register for a bachelor’s de- tions. At Fudan University, for example, on-campus ac-
gree and €243 for a Master’s, non-EU students will now be commodation costs Master’s students between 800 yuan
obliged to pay €2,770 (Rs.2.52 lakh) and €3,770 respec- (Rs.9,600) and 1,600 yuan annually, while a single room

66 EDUCATIONWORLD FEBRUARY 2024