Universities reel as Indian students ditch Australia
Thursday June 02, 2011 06:14:02 PM,
Paritosh parasher, IANS
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Melbourne: Australian
universities and vocational training providers are in serious
worry mode. More dismal international student enrolment figures
are coming out, with the number of Indians in particular reporting
a sharp fall.
Australian education institutes have reported a further fall of
8.7 percent in international enrolments in the first quarter of
the year compared with the same period last year. Indian student
numbers, according to an article in The Age newspaper, have
decreased by over 30 percent.
Indian students continue to be a serious reason for the downturn
in Australian international education export industry. The fall in
Indian students willing to study in Australia is in continuation
of the downward trend triggered by reports of violence against
youth from the South Asian country.
India was the second largest source of international students for
Australia. Even though India has maintained its second position,
there has been a drastic decline in numbers.
China has maintained the top position as the country of origin of
international students studying in Australia.
Two other South Asian countries, Nepal (down 19 percent) and Sri
Lanka (17 percent), have also followed India in the downward
spiral.
A number of Australian experts have blamed the decline in South
Asian student numbers on the hardened immigration laws.
Even though the Australian Immigration Department has relaxed
student visa rules for India from April 2 this year, the industry
is yet to experience the kind of 'gold rush' as before the laws
were tightened.
Another reason for the massive drop in Indian students opting for
higher education in Australia was a scare created by the Indian
electronic media which whipped itself into a frenzy over the
so-called 'racial' attacks on Indian students.
An Australian National Audit Office report on the programme
published Tuesday has also criticised the Australian Immigration
Department's processes which were "not sufficiently robust" to
keep the industry growth in correct perspective while making laws
to ensure integrity of the student visa programme.
(Paritosh parasher can be contacted at paritoshparasher@yahoo.com)
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