New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) India Tuesday urged Britain to ensure that bonafide students are not adversely affected due to the temporary freeze on student visas by that country in three centres in north India and said it was in touch with the British high commission over the issue.

Terming educational cooperation as an "important facet" of India-Britain ties, Vishnu Prakash, the spokesperson of the external affairs ministry, said: "We would remain in touch with the British high commission on this matter."

"Student exchanges form a vital component of this cooperation," he said.

"The Ministry of External Affairs has been in touch with the British high commission on this matter to better understand the reasons behind this decision and also to ensure that bonafide Indian students planning to go to the UK for studies are not adversely impacted," he said.

Britain temporarily stopped accepting student visa applications at the UK Visa Application Centres in New Delhi, Chandigarh and Jalandhar from Feb 1 after a sudden ten-fold increase in the student visa applications from India, causing them to suspect some irregularities in the process.

The spokesperson pointed out that the UK Border Agency is also investigating a number of UK education providers and has, in the last week, suspended approximately 60 from the education sponsors register.

The British high commission would decide by the end this month whether to start re-issuing student visas at the three applications centres in the northern India.

The temporary visa freeze has plunged hundreds of students in Punjab and New Delhi into despair as many of them have paid their fees and have acceptance letters from colleges in Britain.