They worried too that the two-year post-study work privilege, a big draw for international students, would be revoked altogether.

ECONOMIST: Student visas

Potential entrants have to speak a higher standard of English and the "post-study work route" to staying on has been closed, unless graduates have an offer of one of a list of skilled jobs.

BBC: PM urged to rethink student visas policy

"Consider the consequences of continuing to subject young people to an education system rooted in the Victorian era as a preparation for a post-school period of study and work in a digital age, " she said.

BBC: Costly hi-tech kit lies unused in schools, says study