As UK education authorities ponder over the stunning decline in university applications from Indian students, a British minister has come to a conclusion that the blame lies with India’s “lively” press. “India has a very lively press…its press coverage has been surprisingly negative”, Education Minister David Willetts said in a recent interview to a magazine.

Willetts’ comments come in the wake of a report by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFC) which states that the number of foreign students at English universities has fallen for the first time in 29 years. “Overall, English education remains popular and attractive worldwide”, the report says. “But the recent slowdown points to increasing challenges in recruitment following a long period of growth.”

The fall has been sharpest among would-be students from India (and Pakistan) who applied to study for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. At postgraduate- level, the HEFC report says the rate of applications from India fell by 51 per cent since 2010-11. For Pakistan, the statistics are 49 per cent.

Willetts disputes arguments that immigration restrictions and tougher visa rules are responsible for the falling numbers. He says there is no restriction on legitimate students, something that is well understood in the case of China from where student applications continue to surge.

“I’ve been with the Prime Minister to India on several occasions, and we both make the point that legitimate students can apply, with no number controls. But it’s a striking contrast: in China, that is completely understood. The number of Chinese students coming to Britain continues to surge, which shows it’s not a matter of British policy. It’s about the different ways it’s perceived and reported in India,” said Willetts.

When the current coalition government came to power in the UK in 2010, it pledged to slash immigration and reduce the numbers of so-called bogus students by introducing language tests, withdrawing the sponsorship licences of some further education colleges and asking universities to keep better records of attendance for foreign students. As if this was not enough, there is anecdotal evidence of how foreign students had been upset by the aggressive attitude of UK immigration staff.

All these measures played badly in South Asia along with the 2012 decision by the UK Border Agency - subsequently reversed - to withdraw the licence of London Metropolitan University to sponsor foreign students.

Earlier this year, Oxford professor of Modern History Timothy Garton Ash described London’s policies on student visas as “stupid, incoherent, short-sighted and cack-handed”, adding that they were discouraging international students from coming to the UK.

In separate comments, chief executive of Universities UK Nicola Dandridge told how she was concerned about how government policies were damaging the country’s education sector. “We are concerned about the language and the atmosphere that is being created, not least because it plays very, very badly internationally,” she told a committee of MPs.

“We need policies to attract qualified international students to the UK. "This is why in the run-up to the general election, Universities UK will be calling for a growth strategy for international students.

"This should be supported by a welcoming climate for genuine international students, with visa and immigration rules that are proportionate and properly communicated."