Brussels universities expect decline in foreign students post terror attack

Brussels universities expect a decline in the number of foreign students because of a perceived terrorist threat to the Belgian capital, local media reported Tuesday.

According to Belgian broadcaster RTBF, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Dutch-speaking university in the capital, saw 20 percent fewer exchange requests by European students.

Foreign students who come to spend a school year in Belgium seem to be thinking twice before choosing it as a destination, according to Belga News Agency.

The international organization of student exchanges AFS reported 10 percent cancellations in the upcoming 2016-2017 school year, with parents citing anxiety over more attacks since the March 22 suicide blasts.

None of the 8,000 foreign students at the Free University of Brussels have made applications to leave Belgium, however.

The Brussels terror attacks on March 22 in Zaventem Airport and Maelbeek metro station caused 32 deaths and left over 300 wounded. Enditem