London, July 30 (IANS) International students in Britain failing to attend classes will be reported by their universities and colleges, according to new rules aimed at improving education services offered for foreigners announced Wednesday. Britain is a top destination for Indian students, nearly 22,000 of whom were granted visas in 2007 - marking a 10 percent increase over the previous year.

However, the government is keen to root out any abuse of the system and encourage only “genuine students and education providers”, the government said.

Under the new rules, universities and colleges will be required to take greater responsibility for their international students by, for example, reporting students who fail to attend courses, and to obtain a special licence if they wish to recruit students from overseas.

Any education provider failing to follow the new rules risks a ban on recruiting international students and bogus colleges will be shut down.

Under the rules, students will need to be sponsored by a licensed education institution and obtain an identity card in advance, have a good academic track record and demonstrate they can financially support themselves and any dependants.

They will also need to apply for a course that leads to an approved level of qualification.

Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell said: “I will not tolerate the minority of individuals who seek to damage the quality of our education system through bogus colleges. This is why we have introduced tighter checks…”