Decline in Indian students worrying, says UK varsities

The decline in Indian students choosing to study at UK universities has been flagged up as a worrying trend as a new study said that international students coming here contribute nearly 2.3 billion pounds to the British economy every year.

The report by the business lobby London First and the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) consultancy quantified the economic costs and benefits of non-EU students from countries like India and called on the UK government to improve the immigration system in their favour.

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of representative body Universities UK, said that Indian students, the second-largest foreign students group after the Chinese, were being put off by an unwelcome visa regime.

“A number of worrying signs remain ? not least a drop in those taking STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) courses and the continued decline in Indian students, following a remarkable 49 <g data-gr-id="13">per cent</g> drop between 2010 and 2012,” she said.