Washington, dc: Recent comments by US President Donald Trump about Harvard University have launched a new debate on the future of higher education in the country and created serious concerns.
During a conversation with media persons at the Oval Office, when Trump was asked whether the US government is considering to ban the entry of international students like Harvard, like Harvard, he said, “Yes, we are considering many aspects. As you know, Harvard has been given billions of dollars. How absurd is it? He has a huge dollar of $ 52 billion. Arabs and Arabs are spending dollars and then giving loans to students… they have to repay the loan. ”
He strongly stated that Harvard is in dire need to change his functioning methods. He sharply criticized Harvard’s $ 52 billion endowment, calling it ‘ridiculous’ that the university gets such a huge amount in the form of government funding and student loans.
According to reports, the Trump administration on Friday canceled Harvard’s right to nominate foreign students, as the university allegedly refused to accept some of the government’s demands. Harvard has termed this action as “illegal” and is working towards providing necessary guidance and assistance to his international students and researchers.
The decision will directly affect around 6,800 international students of Harvard, which is more than a quarter of the total students’ number of the university. These students may have to either have to enroll in another university to maintain their non-migrant status or they may have to face the danger of leaving the country (exile). The dispute also underlines the stressful and complex relations between the US government and private universities, as well as the question whether the government has the right to control the nomination of the students.
This is not the first time that Trump administration has a confrontation with universities on the issue of international students. Even before this, the administration had tried to prevent international students from taking only online classes, which were strongly opposed by universities and many states and fought a legal battle. Finally, a federal judge had banned the policy that allowed international students to continue their studies.
As this situation is developing, the university and the international student community are very keen to see what the Trump administration takes the next step. Will other universities also face similar sanctions? This will only tell the time to come. However, one thing is clear: This entire episode is sure to have a far -reaching and deep impact on the future of higher education in the US.
