Mexican students in UK ‘vulnerable’ after funding suspended

Dozens of Mexican doctoral students enrolled at UK universities face having to abandon their studies after their funding was cut at short notice.

About 30 students at Queen Mary University of London and a further nine at Durham University have been told they might not be able to complete their degrees, with critics claiming that their experience is a further sign of the difficulties of universities working with overseas funders.

The students all have their PhDs funded by the Fundación Politécnico, the foundation of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) which wrote to them in March outlining that their funding had been “temporarily suspended” because of undisclosed financial challenges faced by the funder.

In its letter it blamed “a series of operational and financial circumstances that currently affect the availability of resources linked to this program”, adding that the foundation had had to carry out a “comprehensive review” of financial support in place.

“In this context, we inform you that, as of this communication, the management and coverage of payments related to the aforementioned financial support are temporarily suspended, while the analysis and corresponding regularization process is completed.”

Although the funder said this was a “temporary” measure, it suggested students “explore alternative sources of funding”.

Queen Mary has since told students that, although it will pay stipends to cover living costs in May, it will be unable to provide them with additional payments after this date because of “the considerable debt owed to the university” by the foundation. 

It further told students that owing outstanding debt to the university could have “serious implications and may make you ineligible to receive your award”.

In a letter dated 20 April, the university outlined that it is working with the Mexican government to reach a solution but said students should consider “interrupting their studies and returning to Mexico”, with the possibility of resuming studies once funding issues have been resolved.

However, the university noted that if students interrupt their studies for more than 60 days, “we are required to withdraw visa sponsorship and could require a new visa application for when you wish to return to your studies with us”. 

It added that students who are already completing the write-up of their thesis “may wish to return to Mexico and continue their writing‑up remotely”, which would typically see their visas withdrawn, and could make them ineligible for the graduate-visa route.

The students have taken to social media to complain that the “sponsor’s lack of payments and contracted debt with QMUL should not fall on the students’ shoulders”.

They added that “this is an unfair approach from the university, as both Fundación Politécnico and QMUL signed an agreement and both have responsibilities that they need to face”. 

The issues come after hundreds of Ghanaian students studying in the UK were left in limbo late last year after promised funding from their government failed to materialise.

The University and College Union (UCU) branch at Queen Mary said that it had long raised concerns about the university’s partnership with Fundación Politécnico, including issuing a notification to the Office for Students.

In documents seen by Times Higher Education, the union raised concerns that “oversight structures have been treated as an afterthought” throughout the university’s partnership with the foundation, and financial arrangements with the funder were “not transparent”.

The UCU branch said that “all the official channels have not only failed these international researchers but put them in a vulnerable position”.

“These students now need urgent intervention from QMUL and thorough scrutiny of the financial and governance cause of the problem.

“But once these 30 students have been supported, the university and the sector at large has to reflect on how we recentre the humans in these partnerships. Universities’ tactic of simply using the hostile visa regulations to send them back to their home country simply won’t do,” it said. 

A spokesperson from Queen Mary said “We were shocked and disappointed to hear that the funding to support these Mexican students, from IPN, was abruptly stopped.  We are providing support and advice to the affected students, and we are working with the Mexican Government to try and resolve this matter as quickly as possible.”

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com