Admissions to Australian varsities down 50%

NEW DELHI: Following a spate of racial attacks, Australia is fast falling off the map for Indian students going abroad for higher studies. University representatives estimate admissions to Australian universities and other institutes are down by more than 50% this year. Fresh enquiries are almost negligible, they say.

���For the July session, I sent half the usual number of students. It���s tough for those who represent only Australian universities,��� says university representative Paul Chellakumar in Chennai.

���Not one person has asked about Australia this admission season. It was a different story last year,��� says Delhi-based career counsellor Pervin Malhotra.

���I���m in touch with several representatives and students are not seeking admission to Australian universities. Admissions have been hit up to 60% since last year,��� says Henry Ledlie, senior global advisor to IDP Education, one of the biggest reps for Australian universities. Enquiries are down by 80%, he says, expecting no improvement for another year at least.

The racism is for real, says Amrit Sujan, a foreign admissions counsellor. ���We���ve been getting feedback for two to three years now of students facing racism in Australia. Earlier this year, two students came to me after six months and a year of stay each in their universities in Monash & Melbourne complaining of racism. They cut their losses and returned,��� she says.

It���s not only racism that���s putting off aspiring students. Experts say that damaging the credibility of Australia���s better universities is also a government policy Down Under, which threw in work permits and migration advantages to woo students away from US, UK universities.

���The government knew that many were taking the education route to migrate,��� says Malhotra. In the last few years, more than 40% of students fell in this category, says Chellakumar, a bulk of who were from Punjab���s rural areas who would also take additional courses in English, adds Malhotra. Mom���n���pop institutes flourished, scams in which are now affecting credibility of the better universities.

���The Australian government must take responsibility for the small institutes that came up without any integrity,��� says Ledlie. These dime-a-dozen setups exploited the desperation of Indians to get out, he says. In the fallout, the biggest beneficiary is UK, where admissions are still open. ���Many of those who opted out of Australia made a beeline for the UK,��� says Sujan.