PUNE, Nov 5: University of Greenwich, University of Luton and West Herts College of Advertising, Media and Publishing were three of the new universities that solicited business along with thirty others at the British Education Fair this afternoon.Despite most courses available at a mind blowing fee of Rs 3 lakh a year, with lodging and boarding costing about the same and strictly no scholarships on offer, the visiting streams of students as well as universities, many of who are making repeated visits to India, suggest that education abroad is within the reach of many.``These are not just the upper class we are looking at but also a sizeable segment from the upper middle class, the target is bright students who can afford the fees,'' says Anil Bakshi of BCL. While some of the students pay for their degrees, the concept of having education sponsored is catching on fast. With banks starting to take an active interest in education, the trend is one to watch out for.With more than 500 students visiting the fair organised today by the Education Counselling Service of the British Council, there were long queues that stretched across rooms and corridors. ``Nearly eight applications for education in Britain are being sent through our library every month,'' says Bakshi, adding, ``of these nearly 40 per cent get admissions.'' And of more than 55 universities that have come to the country, 33 are visiting Pune.The new additions this time are seminars on in-demand topics like engineering and MBA courses in Britain. Sunil Shastri from the University College, Scarborough, and Mark Bickerton from the University of North London spoke on management today while Martine Moore of London University (External) and Prof. Susanta Sarkar of University of Abertay Dundee will be speaking tomorrow on distance learning programmes and engineering courses.To restrict entries to interested students only, an entry fee of Rs 50 is being charged. The fair remains open tomorrow also.
