Dip in number of students from abroad coming to education hub

“We have taken a tough stand about 65 per cent attendance for foreign students. Since June, colleges are sending details of attendance of foreign students to FRO. Those with lower attendance are questioned by FRO. Foreign students with an attendance ranging from 50 to 65 per cent are asked to come up with genuine reasons and documents like medical certificates. If reasons are not found genuine, we ask them to leave India. Students showing attendance lower than that are served notices. Action is taken as per guidelines of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Due to strict action by Pune police, we feel students who are not serious about studies prefer other cities. That is why number of students registering with Pune police (FRO) may have decreased,” said Patil at an Idea Exchange with The Indian Express on Tuesday.

Citing figures, Patil said that in 2013, there were 4,204 new students who registered with the immigration wing of the police and 5,967 sought extension of student visa. So the number of foreign students in the city in 2013 was 10,166. In 2014, there were 4,117 foreign students who registered with the city police and 3,965 who sought extension of study visa making the total 8,082. This is a decrease of over 2000.

FRO is keeping a watch on academic performance of foreign students. Students who repeatedly fail in exams and do not complete educational projects in time are on their radar. “We got information from a citizen about a Kenyan student doing PhD for the last eight years. He should have completed it in five years. We are deporting him. As per norms, a foreign national coming on student visa to India is not allowed to do jobs or any commercial activity,” said Patil.

The DCP said some students were found involved in criminal activities. “There are some who come to India because of social and political problems in their country. Though they come on student visa, they are not keen on studies. So they do not attend classes and have a poor academic record. Also, we observed students who do not attend colleges and indulge in undesirable activities. Between January and November 2014, we deported about 275 students for violation of visa norms,” he said.

As of now the maximum number of foreign students in the city is from Afghanistan. The number from Iran and Iraq is also quite high.