LONDON, July 30: Foreign students planning to study in Britain will have to supply their fingerprints under new rules introduced by the Home Office in a crackdown on bogus students and colleges.

Universities and colleges recruiting overseas students for courses longer than six months must have a licence and if any institution fails to comply, it faces being blacklisted. They must keep detailed records of their overseas students, telling the Home Office if they miss 10 lectures in a row or defer their studies.

Visiting students will also be required to be sponsored by a licensed institution and provide proof they can financially support themselves and their families.

“All those who come to Britain must play by the rules,” said Border and Immigration Minister Liam Byrne. “It’s right that foreign students wanting to take advantage of our world-class universities and colleges must meet strict criteria.

“By locking people to one identity with ID cards, alongside a tough new sponsorship system, we will know exactly who is coming here to study and crack down on bogus colleges.”

It is estimated foreign students contribute 8.5 billion pounds a year to the UK economy, but immigration is a sensitive issue, with the Conservatives pressing for tighter controls.

Earlier this year, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills said trading standards officers had serious concerns over 124 institutions out of 256 it had investigated.

“I’ll not tolerate the minority of individuals who seek to damage the quality of our education system through bogus colleges,” added Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell.“This is why we have introduced tighter checks to the current Register of Education and Training Providers. The new system will toughen this process further and give extra protection from the damage bogus colleges can cause.”—Reuters

Our Staff Reporter adds from Islamabad: The British government has announced the expansion of its ‘points-based system’ for processing visas for students.

It claims that the new system is aimed at ensuring transparency, enabling applicants to determine before applying whether they qualify for a student visa. The initiative will also help the authorities stamp out bogus colleges.

“Tier 4” of the system requires all institutions wishing to recruit foreign students to get hold of a licence before they start doing so. And every student will need a licensed sponsor.

Under the new system, which replaced the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme in June, applicants will be able to check online if they meet the criteria by using an internet “calculator”.

According to a statement, the system will come in force in spring of 2009 after which no student without a confirmed acceptance letter from a recognised institution will be granted a visa.