Almost 50% decline in Visa applications to Oz

By: Staff | January 7, 2010 | | No Comments

vIndianz.com (07 Jan, 2010) — There has been a sharp drop in the number of Indians applying for visas to study in Australia, said a media report on Thursday. The progress comes following a sequence of assaults, as well as two killings, on Indian students.

studentsThe immigration department figures for the period from July to October 31 previous year illustrate a 46 percent plunge in student visa applications from India compared with the same period in 2008.

The number of Indians applying for visas to study in Australia has fallen by approximately half, heightening uncertainties for the country’s $17 billion international education industry, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Thursday.

The plunges in numbers come subsequent to Indian students were assaulted, causing an hullabaloo in India. About 115,000 Indians have studied in Australia in the last 12 months.

The fierce attacks proved deadly for two students. While Nitin Garg was gravely stabbed in Melbourne on Saturday, Ranjodh Singh’s partially-charred body was found in New South Wales on December 29.

Glenn Wither, the chief executive of Universities Australia, said a decrease in Indian students would be probable to have a larger impact on vocational colleges, where a greater ratio of Indians enrolled.

He said element of the trouble was that Indians had started studying in Australia in large numbers only lately, so there were not many alumni to oppose bad press with stories of their personal experiences.

The immigration department figures in addition demonstrate in general international student visa applications have dropped by 26 percent. The media report said that applications from Nepal plummeted 85 percent, from 5,696 to 845, and those from Korea, Brazil and the US each fell by about 20 percent.

Applications from China, though, improved slightly, by 0.2 percent, and those from Vietnam rose 19 percent. Andrew Smith, chief executive of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training, said he was expecting a “significant” decline in enrolments this year from quite a few countries, including India and China.

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