Brexit deal: UK ‘decided not to stay in Erasmus exchange programme’, EU says

British students will no longer be able to participate in the Erasmus exchange programme under the Brexit deal agreed by Boris Johnson.

Speaking at a press conference after the deal was agreed, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said: “The British government decided not to participate in the Erasmus exchange programme.”

At the press conference on the new deal, Boris Johnson "it was a tough decision" to leave the scheme. 

The Prime Minister stated that the arrangements in place meant that the “UK exchequer lost out” and that it was an “extremely expensive” scheme.

Eve Alcock, former President of the University of Bath Students’ Union, spoke to The Independent and described the government’s choice as a “backwards and nonsensical decision.

“It is a well-established scheme," she said, "with crucial funding to support strong existing relationships with lots of European universities. Opting out robs students of opportunities that are central to academic, personal and professional development. Not to mention it also giving EU students the opportunity to study in the UK, greatly enriching our own higher education system.”

As a replacement to the Erasmus scheme, Mr Johnson has cited the “Turing Scheme”, named after Alan Turing, Mr Johnson says this will give students the opportunities to travel to “the best universities in the world” and not solely universities based in Europe.  

Education and business leaders said in March, at the possibility of dropping out of the programme, that ceasing participation of the programme would effectively blow a hole in the education sector and deprive young people of opportunities.

Kim Mannion, a student at Glasgow University currently on Erasmus in Nice, France, told The Independent that "it is hard to understand why they would deliberately opt-out of something which only brings good to young people

“It is important to note that one of the best parts about the scheme is that it facilitates opportunities for young people for whom it otherwise would not be financially viable.”

The Erasmus scheme gives financial support to students within the programme to study abroad for a set amount of time - either a semester or a year - in a participating country. 

Now, students from the UK who want to study within Europe will not be given financial support from the EU, funded by participating states paying in. 

UK students previously received an allowance of €420 per month (£378) from the scheme. 

Emily Sheehy, a University of Surrey student who previously participated in the Erasmus scheme tells The Independent that “These additional financial barriers [created by the removal of the grant] perpetuate an inequality within education that is imperative to avoid, as students from lower-income brackets may no longer be able to afford the same experience I was so lucky to have”.

“Stopping Erasmus deprives future generations of British students from a huge adventure and potential sense of community with their neighbours across the Channel.”

The existing Erasmus scheme is thought to be worth around £243m in income a year to the UK economy, and serves around 17,000 British young people.

In 2017, 16,561 UK students participated in the scheme, while 31,727 EU nationals from other countries came to study in Britain under it.

A number of non-EU countries are members of the Erasmus scheme, including Iceland, Turkey, Norway, and Serbia.

Universities UK says funding is still in place to the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December and that "In effect, this means staff and students can complete mobility periods and receive funding up until the end of the 2021-22 academic year." However, staff and students involved will still have to deal with whatever new immigration restrictions are imposed on the UK.