Washington ? The government will keep better track of the estimated 1 million foreign students in the United States with a new Internet-based reporting system, Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft said Friday. It’s supposed to be in full operation by January, but some schools are doubtful.

While the Immigration and Naturalization Service has been working on the system for years, it didn’t get significant funding until after the Sept. 11 terrorist hijackings.

Americans “will gain a measure of assurance that the students who are visiting our country are who they purport to be,” Ashcroft said. He said the current paper-based reporting doesn’t efficiently verify if a student is studying at an educational institution.

The INS has acknowledged major gaps in tracking foreign students. Last month it imposed new restrictions on student visas, requiring any foreigner wishing to study in the United States to have an approved student visa before taking courses. Students previously could begin classes while waiting for visa applications to be approved.

Schools will be required to notify the INS within 24 hours if a student drops out or doesn’t show up and to report the student’s status after each term. A student will have 30 days rather than six months to show up on campus after entering the country.

Three of the 19 hijackers involved in the Sept. 11 terror attacks were in the United States on student visas. Hani Hanjour, believed to have piloted the plane that hit the Pentagon, entered the United States on a student visa. He was enrolled at a California school for an intensive English course and failed to show.

The INS will have a partial system up in July, allowing schools to enter one student at a time. By Jan. 1, the agency plans to allow schools to transmit databases with many names. All schools that accept foreign students will be required to participate by Jan. 30 or will be unable to enroll foreign students.

Kansas University officials were unavailable for comment Friday.