New Delhi, September 01: Australian visiting deputy prime minister Julia Gillard on Monday announced a slew of measures to crack down on fly- by- night teaching shops (‘ shonks’) and their unscrupulous agents luring Indian students Down Under.
The move comes even as the Australian media is rife with reports of plunging student enrolments from India for the 2010 academic session.
Gillard, who’s also the country’s education minister, also struck a reassuring note on the security of Indian students at a press meet in the Capital: ” Australia has zero tolerance for violence on Indian students.
It is a welcoming country.” The Age , a leading Australian newspaper published from Melbourne, reported that Indian student enrolments in the state of Victoria – which has the highest number in Australia – may see a decline by up to 50 per cent.
Gillard said the impact on enrolments can be gauged only next year. ” Our enrolment cycle follows the calendar year,” she clarified.
Earlier in the day, Gillard met Union minister for human resource development Kapil Sibal to assure him that the Australian government was acting firmly to ensure the safety of international students. ” We have agreed on an annual ministerial exchange on the education issue, attended by ministers as well as representatives of universities, industry and business communities,” she said.
Among other measures Gillard announced were an International Student Round Table in Canberra and the joint working party on student welfare established by the Council of Australian Governments.
In 2008, India had sent just under a lakh students to Australia – the largest number of international students Down Under. If enrolments from India are hit next year, Australia stands to lose a substantial slice from its overseas education market, the country’s third largest export dollar earner.
Worst affected could be the private vocational colleges, which registered a staggering 195 per cent growth in 2005- 2008, compared with a 12 per cent rise in universities during the same period.
Just ahead of her India visit, Gillard had warned Australia’s education providers that they risk being shut down if they don’t comply with rules relating to international students. She also introduced the amendment to the Education Services for Overseas Students ( ESOS) Act, 2000, in her country’s parliament.
All listed institutions would now be required to re- register under new and tighter criteria by December 31, 2010. The amendment ensures greater transparency and accountability of international education providers.
In a measure of just how serious Australia is to engage India, Gillard will be followed by trade minister Simon Crean and treasurer Wayne Swan in the next eight days. Australia’s PM Kevin Rudd is scheduled to visit by the end of the year.
–Agencies