London, March 30: Britain has denied admission to over 700 international students from taking courses in nuclear, biological and chemical warfare subjects amid fears they might use the knowledge to build weapons of mass destruction, media reports said.
A total of 739 student applications, for a range science and engineering based courses, have been rejected to prevent extremists gaining access to the information and materials they need to develop nuclear and chemical weapons, The Telegraph reported.
The students, whose nationalities have not been made public, have been banned under the Academic Technology Approval Scheme. The scheme was launched in 2007 to vet students from outside the EU when they apply to certain science courses which could be used to make weapons of mass destruction. But MPs have criticised the limits of the measure which does not extend to British-born students.
The chairman of the Committee on Arms Exports Controls, Sir John Stanley, said: “The fact 739 students have had to be barred indicates this is grounds for serious concern.” “It is extraordinary given the threat we face for the government to go on refusing to extend this to those in the UK,” Stanley was quoted as saying by the Sun. According to the foreign office, 20,000 applications were made under the scheme by would-be foreign students last year. PTI
