There has been a whopping 82 per cent increase in the number of Indian students enrolled in universities in the United Kingdom in 2003.  

According to the latest figures, there were 10,899 Indian students in UK universities in 2003. Students from non-European Union countries pay the full cost of their courses in the UK.

The total number of international students at British universities went up by nearly a quarter in 2003 suggesting that vice-chancellors would be able to carry out their threat to substitute local students with those from overseas if parliament failed to approve a Bill to introduce top-up fees.

A record increase of 23 per cent brought the total of foreign students to 174,575 and meant Prime Minister Tony Blair's target of an extra 50,000 students in higher education had been reached a year early.

However, if parliament voted down the Bill, universities facing a financial crisis would be forced to rely more heavily on income from overseas students. "There will be fewer places in lecture halls for home students," Sir Richard Sykes, the rector of Imperial College, London has said.