Opinion
Mint Explainer: Why are Australian universities banning Indian students?
Summary
- Many Indian students admitted to Australian universities in 2022 have allegedly dropped out and moved to cheaper vocational institutes
Several Australian universities have banned or restricted the intake of students from select Indian states, according to reports published in The Sydney Morning Herald. What’s the reason for these bans, and how will they affect the dreams of Indians planning to study in Australia? Mint explains:
Where have the bans been imposed?
Two Australian universities, Federation University in Victoria and Western Sydney University in New South Wales, stopped admitting Indian students from some states in May, issuing a note to education agents who facilitate admission for students. Federation University has stopped processing applications of students from Punjab, Haryana, J&K, Uttarakhand and UP until further notice, whereas Western Sydney University has paused admissions from Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat in May and June. In April at least four other universities (Victoria, Edith Cowan, Torrens and Southern Cross) paused the intake from certain parts of India. In March two other universities (Wollongong and Flinders) amended their application processes for students from countries considered “high risk".
What is the reason for these restrictions?
Universities have flagged high attrition rates as the major reason. After securing admission in universities in 2022, many Indian students have allegedly dropped out and moved to cheaper vocational institutes. Such students have been labelled as “fraudulent" or “non-genuine" by visa and college authorities. With a rise in such cases, the rejection rate for college applicants has also risen to 20.1%, far higher than 12.5% in 2019. For India, it has hit 24.3%, the highest since 2012. India-based education agents, after charging a commission, help students get placed in expensive, reputed private institutions, which have a relatively higher visa acceptance rate. Once the students arrive in the country, they are shifted to low-cost programmes by the agents’ offshore counterparts.
Is there a rise in the number of Indians going to Australia to study?
There was a surge in the number of outbound students to Australia in 2022-23, after a decline during covid years. More than 52,000 Indians have been granted student visas in the first six months of the current academic year, outnumbering the total for 2021-22 (42,627), according to visa statistics from Australia’s department of home affairs. If the trend continues, it may surpass the previous high of 66,449 in 2018-19.
Why are Indian students dropping out?
Experts attribute it to two policies: permission to change colleges after landing in Australia and relaxation in student working hours during covid. Students in Australia were earlier allowed to work for only 20 hours a week but this was lifted during the pandemic. Many students apparently started working full-time and stopped going to college altogether. Some moved to low-cost colleges to save a few lakhs over the course of their stay. This relaxation of working hours for students will, however, end on 30 June. It’s possible these ‘loopholes’ were also exploited by people seeking low-skill-work visas.
How will the bans affect prospective applicants?
Though the bans could be short-term, they could have a severe impact on the number of applications to Australia, according to a visa consultant. Such blanket bans can create a sense of uncertainty among parents, reducing people’s preference for Australia as an education destination. It is currently the fourth-most-popular country for Indian students after the US, Canada and the UK. Visa consultants say the Australian government could have made policy changes instead of imposing such bans, which will affect even genuine applicants. The government could have barred students from changing colleges or imposing a higher commencement fee to curb the practice.
