France to attract more Indian students, ease work permit rules

New Delhi, Nov 1 (UNI) Visiting French Minister for Higher Education and Research Valerie Pecresse today said her country would ease visa and work permit rules and increase the number of scholarships to attract more Indian students to French universities.

''Students will be allowed to stay for six months after graduation,'' Ms Pecresse told a press conference here.

Pointing out that the number of Indian students in France was only 1,500 compared to 17,000 Chinese students, she said the two countries needed to increase cooperation in education to facilitate the entry of more Indian students into French universities.

Selling her country's education programme, she said France offered high quality education with cheaper fees.

She said a new evaluation agency had been launched to evaluate the research and training programmes of all universities and scientific public bodies in France.

''This will ensure quality control of research and training and look at how universities can find work for students.'' UNI