Indian student flow to Australia may drop 50 pc

The murder of a 21-year-old Indian national, Nitin Garg, in Melbourne has further tarnished Australia's reputation for hosting Indian students. For the academic year 2010, overseas education consultants are predicting a 20-50 per cent fall in the number of students applying to Australian universities.

"We had projected a fall of nearly 20 percent in the number of Indian students studying in Australia in 2010. With the latest incident, it could even go up to 50 percent," says Gautam Gupta, president of the Federation of Indian Students of Australia.

The federation is planning to speak to celebrities known in both countries, like Shane Warne and Brett Lee, and request them to speak to both the communities on maintaining peace.

Judging from visa applications, there would be 4,000 fewer Indian arrivals in 2010 -- a drop of 21 percent despite a projected growth of 4.3 percent in international tourism numbers, according to recent estimates from Australia's Tourism Forecasting Committee. More than 70,000 Indians studied in Australia in 2009.

Meanwhile, overseas education consultants are calling the latest incident a 'wake-up call' for those aspiring to study in Australia.

"Whatever happened was unfortunate, but it cannot be termed as a racial attack, as investigations are still on. Most Indians in Australia, for safety reasons, work within safety limits at appropriate time and at safe places to avoid ugly incidents. After the closure of colleges and the racial attacks, students planning to study in Australia will now emphasise on going through a proper channel and in a secured way," says Ashok Pillai, general manager, Planet Education.

Recent attacks on Indian students in Australia, according to the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India, have resulted in new inquiries coming down by 60-70 percent. Neil Patel, a student in Ahmedabad aspiring to study in Melbourne, Australia, says: "I was really shocked when I heard Nitin Garg was stabbed in Melbourne. I am planning to go Melbourne for further studies this July and the news definitely shocked me. Moreover, I do not know how I would make it if I am not allowed to work part-time. The attacks do scare me, but I would make sure that I am in safe hands while choosing my college and getting the visa. Once in Melbourne, I will try and avoid getting into trouble."

In spite of Indian students accounting for a majority of Australia's third-largest source of revenue -- education -- the Australian government is in no mood to attract students who cannot support their own education after the attacks.

"The Australian government has tightened visa rules to accommodate only those students who can fund their education," adds Pillai. The government is learnt to have raised the living expenses from $12,000 to $18,000 for the students so that only those who can afford the cost will join the programme.

Australia's reputation as an education spot and a welcoming country suffered after a spate of racial attacks on Indians began in June and the closure of a dozen colleges till recently. In November, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said 94 cases of attacks on Indians have been reported so far this year in Australia as against 17 incidents of assault in 2008.