Will it be a blessing in disguise for Australia, Canada and New Zealand education sector with recent incidents in the United States negating the positivity attached to it?
A variety of factors may increase Indian students’ rush to Australia that has already seen a huge influx in 2016 itself, much before incidents in the US created some nervousness among Indian students. India was at the second place with 11 % share of all international students after China’s 27.5 %. The growth of Indian students was 8.9% compared to 2015.
“Political atmosphere and the environment of ‘unwanted’ have hit the morale of several parents as well, and the recent violent attacks have only enhanced the fears though they might not be true to a large extent,” says Nishi Borra of Atlas Consultants, a big player in overseas education consultancy here.
He says the enquiries about Australia have multiplied compared to last year and it was evident from the interactions that parents and students were worried about the stringent policies proposed by the US President. The H1B reforms bill and rumours of OPT period being cut from the present three years were apparently playing on the students’ minds.
“I am predicting a huge swing towards Australia and Canada this year as they offer Post Study Work and in the case of Australia it has introduced additional points in Permanent Residency for STEM postgraduates. Further, the annual wage requirement is around A$54000 (less than U$50000),” says Ravilochan Singh, a Sydney-based education consultant from Global Reach.
“New Zealand can also be welcoming for quality postgraduates as the PhDs in NZ are at domestic fees for international students and their children study at local fees.”
Enrolment data
The 2016 statistics of international students’ enrolment released by the Department of Higher Education and Training, Australia, a few days ago shows that Australia is once again charming Indian students despite making the entry tough to ensure only quality students come.
It revealed that the higher education sector had the largest share of enrolment at 43% while bachelor degree, vocational, English courses and schools constituted the rest.
China and India accounted for 36.8% and 14.6% respectively of enrolments by students in higher education. Bachelor degree commencements also grew by 11.6% in 2016.
One of the attractive reasons is the 2 to 4-year post-study work permit. Compared to USA there are only 41 universities and around 50 other higher education providers, so the bubble will not be as huge as USA even if there is a problem.
But students must realise that Australia has a very strict screening process for admission and visa. “The English language ability, finances and students career goals, family history, parents’ income are also taken into consideration before accepting a student to study,” says Mr. Nishi Borra.
In most cases the universities themselves conduct student interviews, verify the financial, work and academic documents. In addition to this, the Department of Immigration and Border Force will screen all students under their “Genuine Entry Criteria (GTE)” policy.
