Unease is growing among thousands of Indian students that they could lose their college berths as Australian authorities crack down after an expose that most of these institutions are "very much sub-standard". Students' group claimed that more than 1000 international students, mainly Indians, were already in a limbo as a number of colleges they had enrolled in had closed down and the number could go up as high as 5000.
Conceding that some of the institutions that have sprung up to meet the booming demand were "very much sub-standard", Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Jullia Gillard sought to allay the unease on Wednesday, assuring the students that in case of the closure of their colleges they would be shifted to other establishments or their fees refunded. "We have a comprehensive safety net for international students. If they are enrolled at a college that closes, then we have a guarantee that we will find them a comparable place at another provider, or if that is not possible, then their fees will be refunded," she said. The government has intensified action on the educational institutions after the TV expose which has damaged US $ 17 billion education industry--which is Australia's third largest export earner.
Gautam Gupta, a spokesman for the Federation of Indian Students in Australia confirming that some institutions where Indian students were enrolled were closing down, said: "these students are facing a tough time. Their families back home are are facing financial pressure and some students even face deportation." Ajay Unni, a member of FISA, said another 5,000 students could be displaced in next four to five days.
Elaborating on the government stand, Gillard said: "... Yes, there are some operators who have caused problems and we want to address that. But I don't accept... that somehow this is a broad brush across all of the international education industry. It's not. We have high quality providers, satisfied students." "Now that doesn't mean that we turn a blind eye to bad practice and we've already acted to step up targeted audits to ensure that there is good quality and compliance with what we would say is the right thing to do for international students," she told ABC radio. Gillard said the government had already taken two initiatives which included holding an International Student Round Table where international student representatives would come and talk to the government about what they would like to see and what would work for them on questions of complaints and quality and obviously questions of day to day living.
Gillard said that education providers who were maintaining high quality standards must not suffer due to some individual providers. She said many international students did find their experience really good one. "So, we shouldn't allow the conduct of some individual education providers to somehow tar the very good performance of many of our universities and education providers who take in international students, give them a quality education, show care and concern for their welfare, and that results in students expressing themselves as very highly satisfied with the education they got here," she said. Meanwhile, overseas students were now calling on Government to fix what they called as a dishonest system. Close of the heels of migration and education agents scam, two colleges - one in Sydney and another in Melbourne - have been closed. It is being learnt that government is currently auditing at least 17 colleges in Victoria itself that could face face closure. Sydney Sterling College which has gone into voluntary administration has displaced about 500 foreign students and another private education provider Melbourne International College, closed earlier this month left some 300 students displaced. Last night some of the students sought answers at a meeting with government representatives, local council workers and lawyers.
