Erasmus students left in limbo as Brexit fiasco continues

A parliamentary vote has decided that funding will only continue for current Erasmus+ students in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The vote, which took place on the 13th March, confirmed that students participating in Erasmus+ programmes that started before the 30th March 2019 will continue to receive funding.

This means current Erasmus+ students will receive funding for the rest of their projects and won’t need to repeat an academic year or risk loosing academic credits.

The vote followed a new Erasmus+ technical note published on the 29th February promising that current Erasmus+ students would be unaffected by the Brexit outcome.

However, there are no such guarantees for the 17,000 British students who were due to begin an Erasmus+ year abroad starting after the 30th March.

Many university language degree courses encourage and in some cases require that the student participates in a year abroad in order to practice language skills.

Studying abroad has shown to be beneficial to students as research published by Universities UK (UUK) shows participants are 19% more likely to achieve a first-class degree and 20% less likely to be unemployed.

A no-deal Brexit could mean no European health insurance, a lack of funding and accommodation for students, and a decrease in the number of international students who come to the UK to study.

Uncertainty over Erasmus+ programmes is likely to continue as the EU has now granted Theresa May an extension until the 22nd May to convince ministers to either accept her withdrawal agreement or leave the EU with no deal.