Oz to ask India to crack down on unscrupulous education agents

Indian students have to be wary of private educational providers who try to lure them with the offer of permanent residency in Australia. Photo: AP

Australia will ask New Delhi to crack down on the unscrupulous education agents in India who give misleading information to students willing to pursue studies in the private institutes Down Under.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard will take up the issue with the Indian government during her visit to New Delhi next week.

During her visit, Ms. Gillard would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vailar Ravi.

She will strongly take up the issue of unscrupulous agents. She will ask for a mechanism to control them, a senior government official said here.

There are over 500 agents in India working for education providers of Australia. They are supposed to give correct information on educational institutions, the official said.

According to Indias Deputy High Commissioner V.K. Sharma, there is a nexus between the education agents and doggy colleges in Australia. The agents give a rosy picture to students about the private institutes and persuade them to come to Australia.

However, the students discover the pathetic affair of institutes after they arrive here, he said.