139 international students had applied for admissions in the nuclear, biological and chemical warfare subjects. But their applications have not been approved as Britain contemplates that this study can be used by the students for developing the weapons for destruction.
These science and engineering courses are highly innovative and hence impart knowledge that can be helpful in developing destructive weapons. This is the reason that the applications gave been casted off under the academic technology approval scheme.
The nationalities of the rejected applicants have not been disclosed.
The academic technology approval scheme had been initiated by the governments in 2007 to inspect the international students taking admission in these courses.
The limitations of the measure have been highly criticized by the MPs as these courses are unavailable to the international students.
Sir John Stanley is the Chairman of the committee on Arms Exports Controls. He expressed his views that this rejection of 739 applicants is an issue of crucial concern
About 20,000 applicants were made by the foreign students according to the Foreign office data.
The House of Lords report criticized the scheme as it is felt that the scheme aided the UK universities in recruiting international candidates.
A new website was launched in order to help the scheme develop into a more accessible one. It helped to ward off the negative publicity of the scheme.
Highlighting the importance of the situation, Tobias Ellwood, the Coalition's minister for counter proliferation expressed that one of the important sectors of the British Economy is definitely the UK's higher education. Hence there must be stability in the international security commitments and the support on the higher education institutes.
Around 3400 Western Citizens have chosen to be a part of the Islamic State militant group
There have been cases when these foreign extremists under the cover of learning skills in UK colleges and universities have lead to the destruction activities.
One such instance is of Rihab Taha, A PhD plant toxins student from the East Anglia University's School of Biological Sciences in Norwich .Under the name 'Dr Germ' she used to work on a biological weapons programme under Saddam Hussein's.
UK laboratories are the most effective and an advanced research is accomplished in it.
Three students had gone missing in mid February. They are the suspected to have travelled to Syria to Join IS.
This has led to a travel ban of one week for five girls from the East London secondary school.