David Willetts: universities must learn from this investigation But the claims made by The Daily Telegraph about lower entry standards for Chinese students are salutary. If our world-class institutions admit people who cannot cope or who slow down their fellow students, their league table position will slip. That is in no one's interests. The sector must consider the allegations, but it is essential that we do not draw false conclusions from this piece of investigative journalism. Whatever practices have occurred at Golden Arrow or elsewhere, there should not be any effect on the recruitment of our own students. International students do not displace British students. They fund themselves separately, paying their full costs. In fact, from now on, English students will have more opportunity than ever before to attend their first-choice institution. Until this year, bureaucrats have determined precisely how many UK and EU students each university could recruit. We are liberating institutions from this nonsense. This year, for the first time, universities are free to recruit as many students as they like with AAB or better at A-level. Next year, the threshold will be ABB. We are liberating one third of all university places from student number controls. That's 120,000 students. International students have been a useful source of income for universities but the benefits are not just financial. They give campuses a window to the world and that benefits all students. There is no cap on the number of genuine overseas students but it is reasonable to expect universities to recruit them in ways that protect our world-class higher education sector.