New York: India has become the largest contributor of students to the American Universities and colleges replacing China, which led the foreign enrolments for much of the last decades, a new report said.

The report, released by the Institute of International Education (IIE) shows that more than 67,000 Indians are currently enrolled in the institutions of higher learning with Chinese closely following with 63,000.

"We tend to forget that India is as large and developed as it is and therefore has a huge middle class that values education highly," IIE chief Alan Goodman said.

"The US is seen as an educational destination that builds a strong base for careers. Students who do not gain admission to India's premier institutions see the US as an alternative," said Jane Schukoske, executive director of the US Educational Foundation in India.

"Indian students interested in US higher education have been undeterred by September 11," he added.

However, the number of students coming from Islamic nations decreased after September 11 terrorist attacks due to slower processing of visas by American consulates and students' own concern about their safety.

The enrolment from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and United Arab Emirates fell steeply and there was considerable fall in students coming from Egypt, Malaysia and Kuwait.

The number of Indian students, who see the United States as a major destination for education to improve their career prospects, increased by 22 per cent last year against overall rise of 6.4 per cent in the foreign enrolments.

PTI