The United Kingdom Government has announced that it will rejoin the European Union’s Erasmus student exchange programme.

This move, which is expected to take effect from the 2027-28 academic year, effectively restores educational mobility ties that were severed after the UK’s exit from the EU, popularly known as ‘Brexit’, BBC reports.

Erasmus, a flagship EU scheme established in 1987, facilitates student and staff mobility, and promotes cultural exchange and collaboration between educational institutions. It allows participants to study, train, or work abroad across European countries without paying additional tuition fees at the host institutions.

The UK withdrew from the Erasmus programme in 2020 following Brexit and replaced it with its own Turing scheme, which aimed to support education and work placements globally. However, government and university leaders have long lobbied for a return to Erasmus, citing its wider reach and reciprocal opportunities.

Under the new agreement, the United Kingdom will contribute approximately 570 million pounds toward programme participation for the first year, with future funding negotiations still underway.

Students, apprentices, school students, adult learners, educators and sports coaches from the UK will once again be able to access Erasmus opportunities, including study periods at European universities, training placements, and joint research projects. Similarly, EU students and participants will be able to come to the UK under the same terms.

This move sparked backlash from the opposition parties in the UK, particularly the Conservative Party (the Tories), with the Shadow Foreign Secretary, Priti Patel, calling the deal a "betrayal" of Brexit.

In a post on social media, she claimed that the move would "throw away billions of pounds of hard-pressed taxpayers' money".

According to the UK Government, the country’s re-entry into the Erasmus programme could benefit up to 1,00,000 recipients of all ages in the first year alone.