The Greens oppose the CPRS not because it is too weak, but because it will point Australia in the wrong direction with little prospect of turning it around in the timeframe within which emissions must peak, says Senator Christine Milne.
Has the great Indian student bubble burst?
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In the first of a three-part series, Geoff Maslen looks behind the sudden decline in Indian student numbers. Speculation that the flood of Indian students into Australian education institutions is about to dry up, along with a fair slice of the $2 billion they contribute each year to the national economy, has generated alarm in political and educational circles. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says 90,000 students from India are now studying in Australia’s schools, colleges and universities. But there is growing concern the market could collapse following widespread media reporting in India of savage attacks on students in Melbourne and Sydney over the past two months. In a memo to Melbourne University staff after his recent India visit, vice-chancellor Glyn Davis said it was impossible to miss the anger in the media. “Indeed, it was sobering to watch graphic TV footage and reporting of attacks on members of the Indian community at Epping while waiting at Delhi Airport,” Davis said. “Victimisation of Indian students may be the action of a tiny minority but it is important to understand the depth of concern. The impact of extensive media coverage was much evident.” Reaction from Canberra to the prospect of a market collapse was swift: a stream of politicians, including the ministers for education, immigration and foreign affairs, and Victorian Premier John Brumby, headed to India to try to assure the government and the populace the situation was being addressed. Kevin Rudd will follow up their efforts with a visit of his own next month. Rudd met his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh at the G20 summit in the US where they discussed the attacks against students. But attempts by the politicians have not been helped by subsequent stories of shonky vocational colleges ripping off students and offering illegal access to permanent residency visas for high fees. Or the sudden forced closure of half a dozen private colleges in Melbourne and Sydney after audits found they were operating with inadequate facilities and unqualified teachers. The shutdowns left hundreds of students part-way through courses that could not be completed. The first signs of an unexpected downturn in what had become a booming market occurred in August when two universities in Melbourne reported signs of a fall in demand from India. The nation’s biggest recruitment agency, IDP Education Australia, then announced it had experienced an 80% drop in appointments by students seeking visas at its 14 offices in India. Yet factors other than bashed Indian students are likely to have a more profound impact on the overall education export market. Critics of the flood of Indian and Chinese students in the past two years say the sole reason most are here is to gain permanent residency. The huge rise in the number of colleges offering vocational courses, and illegal means of gaining residency visas, is a direct result of the demand. Changes to Australia’s skilled migration programme, which has cut out hairdressing and cooking as skills in demand, seem certain to result in a decline in enrolments once students in India and China realise they will not be able to gain permanent residency. Take that lure away and the main reason why tens of thousands are prepared to take out high-interest loans, or borrow $20,000 or more from friends and relatives, disappears. TOMORROW: Immigration law and the stampede for visas |
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8 Comments
For every Journo who jumped on this bs for a headline. Congratulations.
As one of few Australian born teachers at a college almost entirely made up of Indian students in Sydney for past 6 years, which is associated with an Australian University and teaches courses on their behalf, i couldn’t agree more with the statement that permanent residency is what appeals to the students and is the real reason they are here.
The students rarely show interest in academic work at all, attend class or submit assignments on time, many are even not aware of what they are going to be studying when they arrive and enroll in our courses. Many simply do not even make an effort, with plagiarism common and students even handing in the wrong assignments, as they have not bothered or been able to understand the written outlines given to them.
All that interests the students, is of course the points required for their permanent residency application. While in turn, the college is always keen to point out they are customers, as well as students, with the expectation that if they pay their fees, they will pass their course and receive their degree and residency, just as they were promised by the agent in India.
For every loser who looks into interesting news all the time ‘Congrats’.
Students are blamed because the teachers cant control their students. If the students fail to learn then they should be sit to re-write the exams. If the student fails to complete the subject on time or not attending classes then it should be the teachers or the management’s fault. Most lame institutions are targeting for money. And to be honest I was a victim of them. Didnt go to uni for a month or so because I was changing course and the college didn’t even care to contact me or anything. Even still the funny thing is that letters as to pay the fees on time have been posted on me.
Blame the irresponsible immigration agents who lure students into gettin a Permanent Residency. Poor students who wont even have a basic idea about what is going on are the ones who are suffering a lot and and are also the ones who are getting molested. Australia must have to improve more on their guidelines and see if they are being followed by all. Stringent actions must be taken and an immediate response is expected.
First of all things like drugs, weapons and dangerous items should be restricted. Also racism wont be there if the Indian students communicate effectively. They just behave like its India and do whatever they think its right for them. Also blame those who work for long hours and leave other students in the puddle of looking for a job. Cons and other fraudery are also gone un-checked. Its like, the more u cheat here the more ur rewarded greatly. Ultimately it will get caught at one time. So be careful.
We have to do what we have come to do and obtain it the legal way. If not giving a PR to you would be a total waste of money. So act wisely and be vigilant all the time students.
The notion that somehow Australia is dangerous for Indian students can be put in perspective by what happens to Indian Students at Indian universities. New students are subjects to initiation rites known as “Ragging.” The problem is so serious that an organisation called CURE (Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education) has been established. Here are some of their statistics:
Jul 07 - Jun 08: 11 deaths, 5 attempted suicides, 89 cases in all
During Jul 2003 - Jun 08 :
- 230 cases reported in the english media
- 28 deaths, 10 attempted suicides, 14 left college
- Only 54% cases sought police intervention, 63% incidents in hostels
- West Bengal (30 cases), UP (27 cases), Andhra (25 cases) worst hit
Of course the university population in India is much greater than the Indian student population here, but the CURE stats cover only the violence students are subject to within the Universities not outside.
This is not to condone the violence that happens in Australia, but people who live in glasses houses etc etc. The cure website is: http://www.noragging.com/ for those who wish to explore the issue more thorougly. There is also an excellent article in a recent Economist magazine.
I will add, after 6 years and teaching probably 1000’s of students, albeit in a teaching environment made up of only foreign students, I have never once encountered drugs or drug use, weapons, violence, racism or sexism amongst the students. They are not an issue or a problem at all in comparison to what you might find amongst local Australian students, while are obviously not welcome on any educational campus.
It isn’t a matter of having to control students or constantly remind them of the requirements, i teach postgraduate students and not high school, the students are adults and responsible for their own actions and the consequences. While they are all made aware of what is expected from the start and you would expect, willing to make an effort, considering the cost involved. Although, at the end of the day, we cannot force them to attend or submit assignments for them and if they are never attending classes, they are unlikely to learn otherwise.
Instead, the problem lies with students being mislead by immigration agents and thinking a degree is some ‘backdoor’ immigration scheme, coming to Australia unprepared for their courses and when perhaps should not even have been accepted in the first place. The Universities, who despite continuously ‘dumbing’ down masters level courses to the point where a high school could pass them, have simply become addicted to the funds these students provide and even alter their courses, in order to accommodate the immigration requirements.
A great example of this, is the business and information technology college where i teach, suddenly offering commercial cookery and hairdressing to students a few years ago, when it was added to the skilled immigration quotas, despite the admission from the head of school that they would not allow the students to consume the food they prepared, as they had no faith in their ability to safely and hygienically prepare the meals. While of course, any student who was not able to pass their business or IT course, was transferred to hairdressing or commerical cookery at the request of students, in order to still be eligible for permanent residency. It is after all, why they are here.
Well I agree that its hard to control the students being a professor. If the rules are as strict as followed by the Australian government, none of this would have happened.There should also be some kind of regulatory agency looking after colleges and also once in a while the inspection taking place.
Since the colleges are for their financial gain, all they try to do is leech money out from these students. Some colleges don’t even bother to care about giving proper field replacements and adequate training. There are students who wants to study the subject with an open sense of mind but are spoiled by a select few who cares less.
The high cost of certain products and the large difference in money value can be a real pain in the head for those students who needs to survive over here. Also the government must be blamed for approving a lot of student visas even after the recession. No wonder the kids who are born and brought up here find it hard to get a job and find the immigrants as a threat to their survival. The students who come from abroad must try to embrace all the other cultures rather than thinking that theirs should rule. I have seen some people who have got their PR’s ages ago still not able to communicate properly and yet they live a good life.
A lot of problems are currently existing for international students and yet they plan to adjust with whatever they have. I would suggest mixing up the international students with the local students so that they might get a good understanding. TAFE’s are the best options for now. Those who study in high class universities do study well but you certainly got to pay for it.
Do visa applications for permanent residency appear in the immigration stats? For example, if there are 500,000 students studying here and 20% complete their courses annually of which 50% apply for permanent residency, is their number added to the annual immigration intake or is that separate (hidden). Likewise, others who have temporary residence visas; the proportion who convert to permanent residency in a given year - does it also figure in the annual intake numbers that the immigration department put out?
Finally, is education one of our cash crops these days? Looks like it to me from the reaction of politicians. If it is, are Australian residents affected the way third world citizens are when their govts force them to grow cash crops instead of basic foodstuffs?
Let’s be honest this was not an education bubble it was a cash for visas bubble. Thank god it appears this is going to stop.