Cases of fraudulent applications from South Asia have been on the rise for quite some time and it seems now that the Australian universities have found out a way to deal with this as, as many as 5 Australian universities have imposed restrictions or bans on students from certain Indian states.
These applications are allegedly from individuals seeking work rather than study opportunities in Australia.
Notably despite this, it has been reported that the “Oz” shall welcome its largest-ever intake of Indian students, surpassing the previous record of 75,000 set in 2019.
Rise of Fraudulent Applications Causes Concerns
The rise in fraudulent applications from South Asia who seek work than study has been quite a menace, as concerned regarding these have been raised by lawmakers and the education sector.
As per the reports, there are concerns over the integrity of Australia’s immigration system and the potential long-term impact on the country’s highly lucrative international education market.
Jon Chew from the global education firm Navitas said that “The volume of students arriving has come back a lot stronger than anyone was expecting”. He added that “We knew there would be a lot of pent-up demand, but there has also been a surge in non-genuine students”.
The report said that with many applications deemed by universities not to meet Australian visa requirements that they are a “genuine temporary entrant” coming solely for education, universities are putting restrictions in place to pre-empt their “risk rating” being downgraded.
Universities Raise Restrictions on Students from Punjab, Haryana & Other States
An investigation has been conducted by the newspapers and obtained emails that reveal a crackdown on applications from Indian students within Victoria University, Edith Cowan University, the University of Wollongong, Torrens University, and agents working for Southern Cross University.
The universities are concerned that if the Australian Home Affairs department reduces the student visa expedition process, then it could have a negative impact on their ability to attract and enroll genuine international students.
Let’s see how this happened. This started with Perth’s Edith Cowan University placing an outright ban on applicants from the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana in the month of February.
Followed Victoria University, with increased restrictions on student applications from eight Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
The restrictions placed by some Australian universities on students from certain Indian states coincided with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s recent visit to India.
It was in the march that the University of Wollongong imposed stricter conditions on its “genuine temporary entrant” test for students from several countries including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Nigeria, and any other countries considered to pose a risk by the Australian Department of Home Affairs.
A spokeswoman for Adelaide’s Torrens University said that it was considering only “very strong” applications from Gujarat, Haryana, and Punjab.
