LONDON: In a desperate move to attract fee-paying overseas students, the cash-strapped Oxford University is despatching its high-profile Chancellor, Chris Patten, to India to tap into the booming education market there. Lord Patten will use a series of meetings and speeches in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore next month to try and dispel the perception of Oxford as a "stuffy" place which, the university believes, is one of the reasons why Indians prefer the relaxed American universities.

There is concern that despite a long tradition of Indians coming to the U.K. for higher studies, American universities have overtaken their British counterparts in attracting them. It is estimated that there are nearly 80,000 Indian students on American campuses compared to 17,000 in Britain. Oxford has fewer than 150 Indian students.

"One of the problems in India is that we have a rather conservative, stuffy image. People do not realise the flexibility and modernity of our courses," Lord Patten said.

Expressing concern that Britain was falling further behind the U.S. in attracting the best foreign students, he said: "We have to fight very hard to keep our position in the world league table to stay up there with Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford and MIT." One of the issues Lord Patten is likely to discuss during his weeklong visit is providing bursaries. It is likely to come up when he meets business leaders.

Experts said the fact that the Chancellor was personally leading the campaign to attract foreign students, who pay as much as three or four times more fee than domestic students, pointed to the extent of the financial crisis facing British universities.

Officials denied that the campaign was a "fund-raising" exercise but acknowledged that money was crucial to maintaining Oxford's status as a world-class university with ability to offer attractive scholarships.

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