London, Jan 22 (PTI): Reflecting the changing dynamics of international education, more Indian students are choosing to continue living in India while being enrolled for courses and degree qualifications at higher education institutions in the UK, latest figures show. Every year, thousands of self-financing Indian students arrive in UK to study at various universities and institutions, but increasingly, more students are preferring to stay and enrol on courses delivered in India, thereby reducing the cost of gaining UK qualifications considerably. A spokesman of the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) told PTI that during the academic year 2010-11, there were 8,340 students studying in India who were enrolled at UK institutions for higher education qualifications. These include students enrolled on distance learning courses as well as on UK courses delivered in India by local partner organisations. The figure of 8,340 students in India is said to be higher than in previous years. The latest figure of Indian students coming to the UK to study is reported to be over 45,000, according to the British Council, but the increasing number of Indians choosing to continue living in India may reflect the increasing cost of studying here as well as the desire to avoid the tighter student visa regime. Apart from the cost savings by living in India, the number of Indian students choosing not to come here but enrol for UK qualifications delivered in India is also likely to increase due to the David Cameron government scrapping the Post-Study Work (PSW) visa from April this year. The PSW visa has been popular among self-financing Indian students who seek to recover some of the cost of their course by working here for two years after completing their course.
