Australian universities worried as international student enrolments decline

Australia, 16th October: Several universities in Australia are demanding a change in Australian immigration policies to solve the problem of declining international student numbers.

The number of Australian student visas has shown a steep decline in the past few months and this is being blamed on the new stricter Australian visa norms by the Australian government.

As per the new Australian immigration rules for foreign students, all foreigners wishing to study in Australia must deposit huge amount in the bank to fund their Australian stay.

Moreover, there have been a series of racial attacks on Indians studying in Australia in the last year and this has resulted in a huge decline in the number of aspirants for Australian student visas.

Hence, the Australian government is being urged by the Australian universities to ease down restrictions on foreigner students so as to make Australian student visas compete with UK visas and US visas.

Following a sharp fall in the Australian student visa seekers in the recent times, Australian universities are in a fix since they are dependent on foreign student enrolments for financing their budgets.

According to executive director of IDP Education, Tony Pollack, the findings of a recent study reveals that despite having high value in the international market, Australian education is suffering mainly because of the recent changes resulting in an end of the possibility of getting a permanent residency in Australia by foreigners pursuing vocational courses in this nation.

The future of around 50,000 students from various nations in Australia is at stake presently. Since, they only have a temporary Australian visa, so they are quite unlikely to get a permanent residency in Australia after completion of their vocational courses and work experience due to the changed Australian visa rules, added Pollack.

Hence, the Australian government must make clarifications about dealing with those having Australian student visas while stating the new Australian student visa rules.

The clarification is needed both for professional as well as skilled immigration, Mr. Pollack added.

The latest figures show that the number of Indians studying in Australia has declined to around 29,000 this year as compared to around 100,000 a year ago. Out of 29,000 Indians on Australian student visas, just 11,000 are pursuing studies in Australian universities.