This week saw French defense contractor Thales awarded an £18 Million ‘framework’ contract to develop a prototype ID card system (1). This system paves the way for overseas students and airport workers to be carrying ID cards by the end of 2009. During the same week the Higher Education funding council for England has announced an £15 Million pound cut in bursaries for overseas students(2). The ORSAS scholarships which have been cut provide an opportunity for the best and brightest of the world’s postgraduate students to come and undertake research at a PhD at British Universities.

James Elsdon-Baker NO2ID spokesperson said “The government is treating these students like criminals by forcing them to get fingerprinted and carry ID cards, now adding insult to injury we now hear that an amount similar as that spent on the Thales contract has just been cut from overseas funding. Depriving us from the cultural and academic benefits these students bring to our society."

This follows on from recent announcements that British Universities will be forced to do the governmetnts dirty work by being forced to report details on the whereabouts of their overseas students to the UK Borders Agency (3).


Notes

(1) http://www.information-age.com/home/information-age-today/458031/thales-wins-contract-for-id-card-prototype.thtml

(2) http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=403113&c=1

(3  http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/managingourborders/pbsdocs/statementofintent/studentsunderthepointsbased.pdf?view=Binary

(4) NO2ID is the UK-wide non-partisan campaign against ID cards and the
database state. Scroll down  http://www.no2id.net for a list of 'database
state' initiatives that NO2ID is actively opposing.