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Jolted, Aussie govt moves to
address concerns of immigrant students
WSN Network
Following the
high decibel protests from many Indian students, including a large
number of students from Punjab, about the quality of education being
imparted by some Australian institutes, the Australian government is
getting tough to hold the standards.
Education is a
major product that Australia offers to Indians, and the country is
keen to salvage its reputation after the racist attacks and
criticism of the education providers in Australia among students in
Punjab and elsewhere, including very influential Punjabi Diaspora.
Now, the
Australian government has said it is making it mandatory for
education providers, who recruit international students through
unscrupulous agents, to provide the list of agents.
This was one of
the key aspects included in the changes proposed to the Education
Services for Overseas Students Act, 2000 (ESOA) by the government.
The amendment Bill was introduced by Minister for Education Julia
Gillard in Parliament last Wednesday.
The proposed
changes will require education providers to list names of education
agents, who represent them and promote their education services, and
comply with any matter prescribed in the regulations. The changes
will also ensure that the principal purpose of educational
institutions is to provide education, and the provider has
demonstrated capacity to give education of a satisfactory standard.
The amendments
also call for re-registration of all institutions currently
registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses
for Overseas Students (CRICOS) by December 31, 2010. Conditions
imposed by states and territories on education providers will be
recognised by the Commonwealth.
The amendments
are the first in a series of measures the government is taking to
ensure Australia continues to offer world-class, quality
international education in the changing environment.
Many students
and teachers from popular universities here view the courses, mostly
vocational diplomas, offered by the private colleges as
sub-standard, which do not meet the quality prescribed by the
Australian government and are being used as a dashboard to get into
Australia. Interestingly, majority of students coming under attack
are enrolled in such institutions here and mostly in Victoria.
Earlier, Skills
and Workforce Participation Minister of Victoria Jacinta Allan told
a visiting Indian media delegation that
Victoria
had initiated a rapid audit of education and training providers
suspected of breaching their legal obligations. “The audit is on and
expected to be completed soon,” she said.
26
August 2009
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