Australian universities had banned students from some specific Indian states from enrolling. The reason behind this, as stated by the Australian government, is ongoing visa fraud.

A newspaper on May 22 reported the latest restrictions on students from certain Indian states. The was the same day when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Australia to participate in a bilateral meeting.

In the meeting, Modi and the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a new migration deal in order to promote an exchange of students, business people, graduates, and even researchers.

Which States’ Students are Banned in Australian Universities and What is the Reason?

According to the reports, students hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh will no longer be able to apply or get enrolled in Federation University in Victoria and Western Sydney University in New South Wales.

It is believed that the decision was taken when the number of Indian applicants rejected by Australian universities reached the most in ten years.

Furthermore, now one out of every four applications is currently categorized as “fraudulent” or “non-genuine,” according to the Department of Home Affairs.

The Wiliness Behavior of Agents

Australia’s Department of Education added that they are aware of ‘scrupulous behavior” in the global education sector, such as the common practice of education agents claiming to offer financial incentives to students who transfer from expensive higher education institutions to less expensive vocational education institutions.

According to reports, foreign students get enrolled with the help of education agents, and universities and institutions pay these agents thousands of dollars as a part of their commission for each student they take in.

What was Revealed in the Parliamentary Meeting?

Moreover, in a federal parliamentary meeting last week, the Department of Home Affairs of Australia stated that the country’s institutions are now rejecting 20.1 percent fewer applications than they did in 2019, whose percentage was 12.5 percent.

It was also claimed in the hearing that 24.3 percent of applications from India are being rejected, which is the highest rejection rate since 2012.

Although many parents from other countries truly desire to send their children abroad, they somehow end up taking the assistance of school agents. This was observed by Phil Honeywood, who is the chief executive of the International School Association of Australia.

There was also an increase in applications from South Asia when the Scott Morrison government removed the 20-hour weekly limit on the amount of work that international students could do.

This eventually resulted in students with low-skill Australian work visas to apply in cheap educational institutions, despite the fact that their main aim was to obtain jobs.

It is believed that on July 1, the Albanese-led administration will implement a new work restriction that will fix the amount of work at 24 hours per week.

Moreover, Agencies were informed by Western Sydney University that an important number of Indian applicants who started studying in 2022 batches are no longer enrolled. This resulted in a significant dropout rate, and these students are majorly from Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat.

The University stated that the ban will be intact for more or less two months, and it will also take additional measures to take into account the issue of non-genuine students coming into the universities.

As a matter of fact, in February, Edith Cowan University in Perth prohibited applications from people belonging to Punjab and Haryana. At the same time, in March, Victoria University also strengthened its restrictions on applications coming from eight states. This included Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.

The situation which persists at the moment between Australian universities and Indian students from certain states is very dicey, and nothing can be said about the future. 

Proofread & Published By Naveenika Chauhan