The Conservatives have pledged a further toughening of student visa rules in their manifesto, along with an apparent goal to create a ¡°teaching REF¡±.

Meanwhile, Labour¡¯s manifesto introduced a claim that the party¡¯s policy to lower fees to ?6,000 would be part funded by ¡°clamping down on tax avoidance¡±.

And the Green Party¡¯s manifesto committed to a policy to abolish tuition fees, which it says would cost ?8 billion a year in the long run, as well as to cancel student debt, which it costs at ?2.2 billion a year.

Of the manifestos published as ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ went to press, , published on 14 April, says that the party would ¡°introduce a framework to recognise universities offering the highest teaching quality¡±.

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David Willetts, the former universities and science minister, is thought to have privately discussed the introduction of a teaching equivalent of the research excellence framework, which could potentially be used to allocate some funding.

Reacting to the manifesto, Mr Willetts told THE that there ¡°needn¡¯t be a single measure¡± of teaching quality, but the goal should be ¡°improving the data¡±. He added that ¡°down the track we would see if money then flowed as a result¡±.

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The manifesto also says that the Tories would ¡°ensure that universities deliver the best possible value for money to students¡± and ¡°require more data¡± to be available on graduate employment outcomes. This echoes recent government moves that would enable the ranking of institutions on the earnings of their graduates.

Also in the document is a pledge to ¡°keep our ambition of delivering annual net migration in the tens of thousands, not the hundreds of thousands¡±, giving no indication that overseas students would be exempted. It also says that a Tory government would ¡°reform¡± student visas ¡°with new measures to tackle abuse and reduce the numbers of students overstaying¡±.

This action would include ¡°clamping down on the number of so-called ¡®satellite campuses¡¯ opened in London by universities located elsewhere in the UK, and reviewing the highly trusted sponsor system for student visas¡±.

Nick Hillman, director of the ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ Policy Institute, called the Tory manifesto¡¯s wording on overseas students a ¡°big disappointment¡±. He added: ¡°Yet again, they are portrayed as a problem rather than a benefit to the UK.¡±

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pledges on immigration do not include any net migration target. The party says: ¡°Short-term student visitor visas have dramatically increased, so we will tighten the system to prevent abuse, whilst welcoming overseas university students who bring billions into Britain.¡±

Labour also says that its ?2.7 billion policy to lower fees from ?9,000 to ?6,000 would be ¡°funded by restricting tax relief on pension contributions for the highest earners and clamping down on tax avoidance¡±. When the party originally announced the policy in February, .

The change appears to be a reaction to chancellor George Osborne¡¯s March Budget, which diverted ?600 million of pension tax relief savings that Labour had planned to use to help to lower fees.

Sir David Bell, the University of Reading vice-chancellor and former Department for Education permanent secretary, said that ¡°tax avoidance crackdowns are easy to announce but notoriously difficult in providing a sustained long-term revenue stream¡±.

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He added that ¡°more encouraging¡± was that Labour ¡°recognises the invaluable contribution made by international students¡±.

john.morgan@tesglobal.com

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