Category Archives: Australian PR

Mar 27 2012

Australian Streamlining implemented, Post Study Work detailed… imperfections continue to linger!

This is an interesting week indeed. I have also just returned to the chaos after spending a few weeks in Australia that allowed me to hear and share the viewpoints of several others in the industry…

Flashing the disclaimer of it remaining a “developing story”, both the concepts evolving out of the Knight recommendations are laudable and certainly aimed at propping up the languishing industry. It is certainly the caffeine that International Education wanted and now it’s the time for looking into the nuts and bolts of the details  since there are several anomalies that needs fixing before it is too late.

Streamlining “key” Anomalies:

With no template or prototype available to Universities, there are several approaches to the streamlining. This is a possible cause for some chaos.

The “grander” Universities believe that they donot need so many checks since “wrong students” donot come to them at all. This is possibly true to an extent since stricter entry requirements, stricter attendance norms and higher fees do work as a screening by itself. MY WORRY: It is possible that there may be some students who begin with the grander University to be able to get an easy visa and then change institutions… What is the insurance? Catching the agents will not be a good idea since the students can be exposed to other influences once they are on-shore and may find the studies easier or fees cheaper elsewhere…

Most Universities are working on redrafting their forms so that they can collect some financial commitments from the students and know on how the studies will be funded. This is totally in line with the requirement but MY WORRY: Some of the Universities want the financial sponsorship details along with the initial application when the student at that time is not even 100% sure that he will get in and/or he will choose this institution from the various other options that he has. This is a wrong move and will actually deter the applicants. The better idea is what some others are implementing… which is : The initial application doesnot ask financial details… The offer letter thus generated is conditional to financials and hence before the issue of eCOE, the University is able to satisfy itself.

A linked issue is with regards to checks and the role of agents or University’s contracted local staff. Who will take ownership to the genuineness of the applicant? Frankly, the agent alone should be asked to also sign a pre-verification-checklist prior to request for eCOE. Only the agent is in the position and also having the skill-set that is required for the verifications. I am of the firm view that the current skill-set of the local contracted staff of Universities is not suitable for verifications of documents at all while it might be fine for the other roles… Infact, my recent interactions with University senior staff surprised me that many Universities donot really know why they have an Indian office… A clarity will not just help them but will help the staff and also the agent. With hardly any market left in B level cities and hardly any paper applications in the system now… the only area that comes to my mind as a ground for having a local staff is to enable out-reach activities and institutional linkages. To ensure that this happens, one would need the right qualification and skill-set though. Also remember that most Universities have already pruned their agent lists and there are only a few agents left for the recruitment staff to work with. The student numbers for Australia is also about 10% of what it was two years ago and though growing, not likely to reach the 2008-09 level ever again.

Post Study Work Anomalies:

There is a recent FAQ on PSW on the immigration website. it clearly indicates that students graduating and applying for PSW must have studied for 2 academic years (92 wks CRICOS completed in a minimum of 16 months) and in a course that leads to a Bachelors, Masters or PhD.

The details also go on to indicate that packages that total to 2 years is fine but a Masters cannot be packaged with a Graduate Diploma and hence implying that all components of a package should be either a Bachelors, Masters or PhD.

Wow.. Heads, you lose; Tales, I win…

The above just defeats the purpose of the AQF. How does a student studying a quality 1.5 year Masters be eligible for the PSW if he cannot add a Graduate Diploma or a Grad Certicate to his Masters… Asking him to study another Masters is grossly unfair indeed. In the same line of thinking, a student who studies at a TAFE can package into a Bachelors degree and be required only to study another 1.5 years to get a Bachelors degree and will also benefit from the introduced streamlining with this genuine and appropriate packaging BUT will not be eligible for PSW even after having studied for well over 3 years in Australia.

I also read somewhere that the students should have applied and started their “first” student visa after 5th November 2011 since the PSW is dependent on the student having been assessed under GTE when they first entered Australia. This is a disadvantage to those who are Australian alumni and are returning to Australia to study a next level program of study. it is also a disadvantage to a student who may have started their Bachelors in 2011 and graduating in 2013 and 2014. Something is not right. Australia does pride in offering a FAIR GO…

Come On Policy Makers at DIAC. Fix these and fix them quickly… PSW is a decider in the game!

This is not my only post on the topic and you can certainly look out for more commentaries to this developing story. My interest is purely to ensure that the industry wakes up and the new laudable changes are implemented correctly. After spending more than two decades here, I seem to sniff the areas that stink.

I know the immediate response for some will be to dislike my open criticism even though it is clearly pro-active and constructive. Am reminded of saying of KABIR that most Indians must have heard from their elders…

Nindak niyare rakhiye aangan kuti chhawaye;
Bin sabun pani bina nirmal karat subhaye.

(Keep a critic near you in your backyard for they will help you cleanse yourself without soap and water)

FOR ACCURATE AND UPDATED INFORMATION ON STREAMLINING AND POST STUDY WORK, PLEASE CONSULT WWW.IMMI.GOV.AU . THE ABOVE IS ONLY A PERSONAL COMMENTARY OF THE BLOGGER AND NOT MEANT TO BE COMPLETE OR ACCURATE.

Jan 24 2012

I predict shrinking of On-shore student recruitment in Australia from 2013

When Internet reached inner confines of India and when the young started browsing at broadband speeds, it resulted in airlines cutting out the intermediaries or lowering the commissions paid to the agents and hence drove many travel operators out of business. The same was forecasted also for the education agents and many western commentators believed that students will now access the information online, put in applications online and then will not need the services of an education agent. They also hence influenced the “so called experts” within the education sector to devise strategies that worked from this assessment. However, there was one major error in the calculations. Overseas students did not need the agent only for assistance with applications into institutions. They also needed the agents for help through the student visa process with advise that came out of their experience. Though authorities did not approve, the agents also were the first port of call for students seeking education as a pathway to migration and whether the education agents offered migration process or not, they had to respond to the student’s queries on the courses that met the migration requirements. While the education information could be provided through online searches and online counseling, student visa guidance and also some “tips” on the migration pathway, could only be taken through the education agents “face to face”. Education Providers too realized this and more so realized that converting online enquiries to “bums on seats” was far more complex than through the services of the agents.

The above applied to offshore and onshore education agents and the business opportunity that came their way. A perfect business model indeed and win-win for all…Education Providers, Students, Agents and even Government Agencies. DIAC relied on selective agents worldwide to vet the visa lodgments. Austrade and AEI worked closely with agents to boost forex earnings and also to focus on certain markets. In Australia, several migration agents extended their activities to include education counseling.

However the last two years has seen a changed environment. Whether it is for good or not; is subject to another article. Here we just note that the environment has been altered.
A tightening of the residency visa regulations means that those who entered Australia desiring their education to be a pathway to migration had to look for changed courses and quick-fix solutions and handholding locally to find solutions.
Onshore agents were not recruiting students from offshore locations and suddenly found themselves moving students from diplomas to degrees and from one MODL occupation linked course to another SOL linked program.

This churning of the students already in the system gave an illusion of the market existing when the reality was that the new students entering Australia from India had declined by over 75% last two year.

The reality is also that the churning of the students in the system only has a short life span. There is likely to be very few students seeking changes from diploma to degree or any other such movement in 2013. Further, since the first visa to private institutions and to vocational providers has already become so difficult, it is less likely that the industry will see the same kind of numbers again. Students already in the University system are less prone to the churning phenomenon anyways.

This is only one aspect of the changed environment… The Post-Study-Work visa announced this year post-Knight review means that a “near-guarantee” is being linked to the student visa for degree students. Though this is a welcome move, it is something that will make many onshore education and migration agents uneasy. The “guarantee” means that the students will be able to work for 2-4 years on completion of the program and this was not dependent on the occupation and whether it had migration outcomes. This “guarantee” means that the students will not be seeking help from migration or education agents on-shore anymore from 2013 to the same extent as has been done currently.

And… the streamlined system proposed for the Universities and also other guides issued to them have meant that most Universities are going to be using less and less number of agents even in the overseas markets. Education Agents are going to be required even more but since the institutions have to be accountable for them, they are likely to be even more discerning. I will not be surprised if they limit their new agents only to certain markets around the world and reduce their onshore contracts.

Well, in light of the above… my gut feel is that migrations agents will be busier with employee and state nomination categories, family migrations and other such categories that require handholding beyond the information that is currently available in public domain. The skill level of the migration agents will also be challenged and personally I feel that this will drive some of them also out of business.

What bothers me is the fact that some registered migration agents due to their helplessness or greed are cutting corners in overseas markets through sub-contracting or otherwise and hence bracketing others in their industry also as suspicious. I may indicate that in India, AAERI was forced to suspend 4 agents recently for suspected-student fraud and even though the matter is still under police/authorities investigation, 2 of the 4 agents are registered (and continue to be registered) migration agents in Australia though functioning through sub-offices in India. Technically, the Australian legislation does-not reaches India and this is where a loophole exists allowing onshore-regulated agents engaging in unregulated activities overseas.

I shall hesitate in generalizing and shall acknowledge that many of the agents are ethical and genuine in their intent. However like what happened with offshore education agents over last two years, scape-goats too have to be found. I fear that Australia has found them in the onshore education agents and in the offshore activities of the onshore migration agents…

Jan 7 2012

Anuj Bidwe Killing: Indian Media commentary misses out where it matters…

BRITISH MEDIA INFORMS: Anuj had originally wanted to study in Australia but Subhash persuaded him not to because he was worried about a spate of racist attacks on Indians in 2009. 

BBC adds: Anuj Bidve could have gone to a US or Australian university to fulfil his dream of pioneering new micro-electronics technology. But his parents sent their only son to the UK because they thought “he’d be safer there”.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2080837/Anuj-Bidve-murder-Parents-took-bank-loans-send-UK.html#ixzz1iiQuuzMq

The point that I am making is NOT that UK is as racist as Australia supposedly is or that US is equally unsafe. But that any place in the world can be safe or unsafe and this includes our own cities in India. Just like our own neighborhood in India, we need to exercise caution and alertness in all large cities. Avoid certain areas after dark and also remember that there will always be some people, even though very few in numbers, who are racist or have a distaste for foreigners. This is a reality and possibly a reality alike how some feel in different parts of India for others from other parts of India who land up in their cities for the jobs. However, this is indeed a very small number and our interaction with such can be prevented if we avoid certain areas at certain hours. Don’t we advise our close ones to avoid certain areas of our own towns in India at certain hours? I am sure we do that. 

There are several useful weblinks that give tips on how to carry ourselves out while being an overseas student in a foreign land. Most education counselors (of repute) do conduct pre-departure briefings for their students. I am providing some excerpts from Vancouver Police site, which gives some safety tips… (Knowing that several of this blog readers are students…)

On the Street

Be alert. Walk with confidence. Walk with your head up. Be aware of who is and what is around you, and be careful when someone approaches you with a simple question. Leave strange or uncomfortable situations. Trust your instincts. Always tell your roommate or host family where you are going and when you will be back.

  • before going out ask advice for the best routes to events, restaurants or shopping
  • change direction if you feel you are being followed; go to the nearest store, restaurant, or pay phone
  • do not carry large amounts of money (cash), and do not show money in public; use bank / debit cards instead
  • never share your PIN number or let others see it
  • keep your passport in a safe place at home; instead carry a photocopy of your passport and other ID
  • don’t go out alone or accept rides with strangers; do not hitchhike
  • don’t use headphones when walking / jogging; they make it difficult to hear an approaching car or stranger
  • don’t carry weapons; they are illegal and can be used against you
  • don’t argue or fight if robbed – yell loudly
  • fight back to protect yourself if you are attacked; try to stop or distract the attacker so that you can escape and call 911

Out at Night

At night, walk on well-lit, busy streets. Try to be with someone. Walk in the middle of the sidewalk. Avoid isolated areas such as parks where there are no other people around. Carry a whistle or other personal safety device. Scream or yell loudly if attacked.

Feb 18 2011

Mirroring of Immigration Policies leading to a boring and flat world indeed…

A perfect theory till NZ played spoiler. I present my “cut and paste” hypothesis suggesting that immigration policies are being copied from one nation to another.

There was a time when the immigration policies, post study work and part time privileges varied from one country to another. These gave certain competitive advantages to each other. Even within UK there was a difference in post study work opportunities between Scotland and England. While there is no real reason to believe that those differences harmed anyone, over the last few years, too-frequent exchanging of notes and aping of regulations has not just led to similar and sometimes exactly-same privileges being offered by one and all.

 

Australia offered part time work permission for 20 hours per week and the UK started copying that. NZ and others too followed each other. Ireland and Canada introduced work permission and what was exactly-same was the number of hours each of them allowed the students to work during the study semester.

Then arrived the post-study-work privileges. Scotland introduced the Fresh Talent Initiative allowing students to work for 2 years post study. No just rest of the UK followed course, even Australian experts who often precede others in their initiatives, found logic in it to introduce a 485 subclass visa for graduating students to gain experience post their studies with an option to move on to other more permanent visa categories. NZ too around the same period introduced a job search visa that allowed students to find a job and then get a work permit. Canada too has a work permit though often that route is taken as a pathway to permanent residency. The OPT (Optional Practical Training) option in USA offers roughly the same goal. Hence the students had an option to gain some experience even without the permanent residency option.

The speeches of the immigration ministers too seem to be a cut and paste jobs.

“We have been clear that we will do nothing to prevent those coming here to study degree level courses and will protect our world class academic institutions above and below degree level. So the universities, all of whom are highly trusted sponsors of foreign students, should not worry. We want to make sure that every student who comes to this country is a legitimate student following a legitimate course.”

“Stricter control will be in the best interest of legitimate students. Some of those who come to study at less reputable institutions are genuinely in search of education which they do not receive. They may have been misled by questionable agents overseas or by these colleges.”

I will not be surprised if any of you assume the above to be from the speech of the Australian Immigration Minister. The reality is that this is an extract from his UK counterpart and that too very recently. The same content and very similarly drafted.

Not just them even media is ensuring generalizations. The quickest scapegoats they find in any conflict related to international students to be the education agents. The recent hungama over the US’s Tri Valley University scam once again got the agents to be seen in bad light for no fault of theirs. Now there is sufficient evidence that most of the students who ended up in Tri Valley were not recruited or counseled by agents in India at all but had moved from other institutions in USA exploiting loopholes in the system. The visa office too had bungled in some cases in giving the visas. Anyway, media and also some experts targeted agents and suggested that Indian Government should regulate dodgy agents.

In cricket, New Zealand has a reputation at being spoilers even if they cannot win. My theory too promoting a flat world was spoiled by this beautiful island nation. It is a delight to read the statement of NZ Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman of yesterday.

“Not only does New Zealand gain from the economic benefits of having them study here, many international students stay on providing longer-term benefits by contributing their skills to our workforce and economy,’’ Dr Coleman says.

‘’Another plus for fee-paying foreign students is the recent introduction of interim visas which allows them to continue studying while applying for visas to further their studies. This will smooth the enrolment process for education providers.’’

The press release goes on to say: Students from India had the highest rate of transition to work (72 percent) followed by students from China (43 percent). Similarly, students from India also had the highest rate of transition to permanent residence (47 percent), followed by students from China (23 percent).

The research also found 68 percent of former international students were in fulltime employment 18 months after gaining permanent residence. Nearly one-third – 31 percent – worked in professional occupations and 62 percent worked in a skilled job.

Full text on this link.

While Minister Coleman may have played spoiler to my “cut and paste” theory, he has indeed re-established NZ’s reputation at being a thinking country and one that avoids aping other nations.

Whether right or wrong, it is indeed ensuring that our world is not totally flat. We don’t know the future though.

 

Feb 5 2011

Is the AL change sufficient to arrest the fall in Indian student numbers to OZ?

Assessment Level change for 573 is the single most positive news in the industry in the last year. It resulted due to sheer objectivity on the part of the decision takers and also considerable level of formal and informal lobbying aimed at explaining the disadvantage the visa requirements were causing to some genuine students. Now that it will make visas for the University bound students easier from April 2011, there is an expectation already that this will result in a reversal of the student-number trend that Australia finds itself in. This is not just a premature assessment or unrealistic expectation but is rather naïve.

Student numbers have fallen dramatically but totally on expected lines and to figures that has been predicted quite accurately, not just by myself but by most “in the know”. Experts took their time and once they overcame the bout of denial and a period of gazing at outdated statistics, they have given the reasoning for the fall in student numbers to 1)Security Concerns following the hyped reporting of the Melbourne incidents, 2)Student Visa hurdles posed by the AL4 assigned to category 573, 3)Period of relative confusion related to migration regulations and Post-study-work opportunities and 4)Forex changes that made the Aussie dollar dearer. In changing order of preference according to their own leanings.

Australia has now attempted at addressing these causes and waits for an effect. While the security issue has been addressed particularly in Melbourne and there has not been any Nitin Garg or Shrawan Kumar type incident for well over a year now, it will take some time and positive media for the security concerns to be removed from the minds of students and their parents. Student visas have been made easier for University bound students with the proposed AL change. The new migration system has been announced and there remains some pathways to gain experience in Australia post studies especially for those with higher levels of English and with skills in demand.

However, the issue of forex changes making Australian education dearer has not been addressed yet. When I point it to the experts that they are wrong in concluding the forex to be an uncontrollable factor, they do give me a good ear when I lay out the prescription. It basically relates to the first chapter in any economics text book. The price is determined and should be determined by supply and demand. In the current situation when the supply of places at the Universities is in surplus and the demand needs to be worked upon, the only method to do so is to ensure that the price “in Rupees” is kept at competitive levels to the options that the students have across the world. I am aghast to find Universities increasing the fees in 2011 even when the demand is poor. This is pushing them out of the consideration completely. In-fact, what they should be doing is to keep the fees at 2010 levels and offer a special “India bursary” to all Indian students which for a year could bring the fees down and hence help the attempt to excite the market again.

Once the institutions become aware of this requirement from their end and have addressed it, they should then aggressively arrive at the market and once again begin the promotions for quality Australia Education. “Go Ozzie Go” indeed.

Australian Government Departments too need to raise their resources and engage public relations stalwarts and image consultants. I am told that companies such as Counselage of Suhail Seth represents the British interests and do a good job (!). Prominent promotions highlighting the quality of Australian University Studies when coupled with Public Relations campaigns will definitely act as catalyst and in two years, Australia can once again be at the top of consideration for the Indian students.

Several ends to tie and they are getting there. My problem remains that my patience is running out and the interest in Australian education in India is losing momentum. Any delay will make it all even tougher. I am going to do my bit. What about you?

Nov 25 2010

2010 report-card and 2011 prediction: Demand from India for International Destinations

With 2010 Indian Student Data available for all major destinations and with UK too showing a huge decline(40%), is it a depression in the industry or a mere correction causing a “depression”!!!

depression |diˈpre sh ən|
noun

severe despondency and dejection, typically felt over a period of time and accompanied by feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy.
• a long and severe recession in an economy or market : the depression in the housing market.

Britain: 2010 and a prediction for 2011.

Now that the UK visa numbers for 2010 are being reported (see link) and with clear indications that the total number from India who will enter Britain for their education during the year to be not more than 35000 (a fall of 40% in 2010 over 2009), the corrections are truly in place and is being expected to finally settle around 25000-30000 per year by 2011. It may be due to the spurt last year was fuelled by sudden loosening of visas that led to thousands ending up in UK even without proper English communication abilities. The correction had to occur and was predicted even on the very first day when the loosening had been initiated. Britain’s total intake from India is likely to hover around 25000 and certainly under 30000. There are also whispers that UK may cut the 2-year post study work permission that now exists for graduating International students. If this happens, the numbers can shrink further.

America: 2010 and a prediction for 2011.

Thankfully, the reporting of the enrolment statistics has a mention of the total visa grants and so the newspapers have put that in right context for the first time. China overtaking India in total enrolments in 2010 is hardly of significance as was India leading in enrolments in 2009, a red-herring. I predict the Chinese numbers to also lower in coming years. The actual demand for a destination comes from the total number of fresh student visas from one country for another. The reports (see link) show that there were 32000 visas from India to USA in one year and I feel that this data is actually a comparable stats to UK’s 57000 of 2009 and my gut feeling is that in 2010, USA received less than 30000 students from India. What will happen in future will depend on how much the US institutions progress in adapting to the education agent-assisted recruitment. If there is progress and if more established University brands accept agents, the numbers can swell and USA can take a clear lead. However the marketing period for 2011 intake for the quality and more rigorous institutions is actually over already considering the lead time in place and one can expect realistically the Indian numbers to USA to hover around 30000 or even less.

Australia: 2010 and a prediction for 2011.

Australia had led the internationalization at one time in history but now is becoming an example of how a country continues to blunder to non-existence of the clichéd “whole of government” approach to Internationalization of education. The student numbers from India in their immigration stats for July 2009 to June 2010 over the earlier period fell by 77% to about 12000. (see my earlier blog with details on link). My gut feel is that if we look at the calendar year 2010, it will be only about 10000 or even less. The question being asked in all quarters is whether it will go down further in 2011 or will it begin to rise. The answer my friend is blowing in the wind. It was expected that Immigration will begin welcoming the quality students and turn on the tap once again for them. Especially when the risk of abuse of Assessment level mechanism being low following 1)so called PR vocational courses losing shine and 2)packaging route to enable easier visas through the higher category has been blocked. However, the “Immigration” continues to be guided by its experience of fraud in student applications though I continue to hope that the checks in place will be able to prune out the rogue from all applicants without disadvantaging genuine students. I feel fatigued from the various submissions made again and again and this fatigue is going to set in also with institutions and various lobby groups who seem to be again actively rushing to Canberra in a bid to get ministers and departments to understand their panic. I also believe that there exists misplaced arguments that lowering of the AL for category 573 will lead to its abuse again. Each passing day is resulting in lower prospects for a revival for the industry. The institutions have to take blame for their late start in lobbying. For a long time the institutions stayed put in the belief that the loss of numbers from India can be made up from China and I remember warning the leading providers that Chinese students enter the process at the ELICOS and pathway stage and so the impact only shows up one year later at the Universities. Which has happened now and so they have finally woken up. Better late than never.

Canada: 2010 and a prediction for 2011.

All reports show that Canada is doing a few things right. The SPP system in place has solved the muddle about the private institutions recruiting from India and given a clear direction. The system is working and the institutions are happy. The market is buzzing too. All indications are that that Canada is the story to watch in 2010-11 and should hit their highest student numbers ever from India. And why not! Canada also does-not hides behind experts that advice delinking of education and work pathways. They are also not compromising in anyway with regards to English requirements or funds and the SPP system is a model that should be adopted by Australia and NZ too as both has a developed private institution setup that is hungry for students. The University sector is also actively wooing the Indian students and recently a number of baits have been announced by way of scholarships. (see link on a major visit by the Universities to India earlier this month).My prediction for 2011 is that the country will continue to show good student numbers and if the institutions can come around to greater coverage of the Indian sub-continent and not just focus on North and West, Canada can top the total student visa numbers across destinations from India by 2012-13.

New Zealand: 2010 and a prediction for 2011

NZ that went up from in 2009 may actually have reached its most limit in 2010 at around  6500 approvals. (This data is the changed figure from the initial blog based on revised inputs received on 26th November 2010. Visa grants in calendar year 2010 till 25th November was 6187 and my estimate is that by the close of 2010 it will still remain around 6500. NZ saw an increase of 10% last year and is once again exhibiting about 10-15% growth this year. While the number of visa applications in 2009 and 2010 are roughly the same, the growth is largely due to reducing rejection rates of visas). The issue is not of the numbers but where they are going within NZ. The growth in 2009-10 was largely due to numbers ending up at the various private colleges and not as many to the Universities. It is now being expected that the numbers will stay well within this total for next few years but more will end up with institutions of repute. The University sector has fine-tuned their marketing in a collaborating format and the results are around the corner for them. The ITPs too have added more and more postgraduate and graduate diploma courses to be able to cater to Indian students looking at studies post their Bachelors. The visa system is finally showing evidence of maturity and the fund transfer scheme will make it easier for borderline students to be able to go ahead beyond the border. NZ too has a future here though my gut feeling is that the numbers will not grow too much but will end up with better institutions now. What is bothering me is the reports that seem to suggest that Education NZ may be merged with Trade NZ and hence going on the line that AEI lost its promotions and marketing role to Austrade. (see link)

Other Destinations: 2010 and a prediction for 2011

Singapore continues to grow but will (or has already) hit its potential in India. The test will be when know of the experience of majority of the Indian graduates from the second tier Singapore institutions with the job market in Singapore or elsewhere. I remain a little circumspect and will wait on for the reports to emerge.

Dubai and UAE has ceased to grow from India in my opinion. There is an audience but that audience is very limited.

China became a destination for Indian medical students primarily due to aggressive marketing by certain education marketers. Screening tests that graduating students have to take in India in line with Medical Council of India guidelines to be eligible as practitioners are reportedly fairly tough and there are several who are not able to clear it in their first attempt. Hence to say that China as such is not a destination but is (or was) driven by the access to cheaper qualification and in hope for their acceptance in India primarily as doctors will not be misplaced. There was a time that USSR was a prime destination for such students when MCI recognized the Soviet Union qualifications for the profession. Now that Medical Council of India has the screening test in place, the time for China as a destination is limited and the future of such students fairly risky. (Read this link to understand the risk)

Malaysia and Thailand have tried marketing in India and barring a few exceptions in AIT in Bangkok or Monash in Malaysia, I would feel that appeal for them in India would remain limited despite cost and visa attractiveness.

Certain European countries such as Switzerland (for Hospitality), France (for Management) and Germany (for Engineering and fee-free education) may hold some interest in India but will never emerge as a major education destination because India students aim at English-speaking destinations.

Conclusion and Overall student trends in 2010-11:

What we need to note is that the total number of Indian students going overseas to study has declined for sure and when we add up the numbers for all the major destinations, it is clear to me that in 2010, there will be less than 120000 students in total who may have travelled out of India on student visas (Despite indications that Canada and NZ have shown a growth). This is an approximate decline of 30% indicating a recession in the industry. I fear a further 15-20% decline in 2011 before it settles down around 100000 students and what will be of interest is the market share of the various destinations then.

The reasons for decline certainly stem from the US recession two years ago followed up with media hyped concerns on student security in Australia and coupled by tightening of post study work opportunities and student visa policies. Some may try to assume this to be a result of growth of Indian education sector that many are opting to study in India itself. I disagree by saying that while the intentions are very much there, no real ground development has taken place yet to convince me. Beyond a few of the Indian private colleges of debatable repute, there are also stories of action against the deemed statuses of some colleges. Foreign University Bill is yet to be passed and even if they are passed, it will take years before capacity can be increased in India.

The fact that recession is very well set in our Industry is also indicative by the fact that there are job-losses and no real indications of immediate upturn. It may actually be camouflaged as a much needed correction but certainly this correction is going to last for a few years and is causing a “depression” in our minds if not in technicality.

Nov 12 2010

OZ in November 2010 listens to our echo and my impressions of the new Skilled Migration Point Test.

“An echo (plural echoes) is a reflection of sound, arriving at the listener some time after the direct sound.”

This has been an unusual week and one that fosters optimism and hope for 2011 in the Industry. On Tuesday, a gathering of selective education agents and also some members of the press in presence of several officers of the Australian Post in New Delhi heard an eminent expert from Australian International Education Industry indicating the following:

  1. The interpretations and use of various stats on student mobility and the number of international student numbers tend to confuse and misguide and the only real statistics to gauge changes to demand for a country destination is the fresh student visa numbers. The reality is that there has been a severe fall in student numbers from India this year and he was quoting the DIAC statistics.
  2. The Minister for Education of Australia (while in Beijing) has reportedly criticized the student visa regulations which have become a detriment in the growth of the industry and is not serving the purpose. There are indications that he will be recommending to the Minister for Immigration to review them.
  3. An urgent need for all to come together to re-launch brand Australia.

He is right in making the points but these points are not being made for the first time. No. Not at all. I have argued over last 4 years that the use of enrolment stats by Australia often ends up misguiding and confusing the decision makers. The point has been repeatedly made and even recently, I attacked the attempt to spin the reality with the help of enrolment stats that painted a better picture but just a picture nevertheless. The second point too has been the one that AAERI has lobbied for and provided “formal and informal” submissions to the then Minister of Immigration directly or through their office. Wait a minute here: The Minister for Immigration of that time is the current Minister for Education and hence the Minister seems to be acknowledging finally that the regulations that he introduced and decided upon have indeed become an undesired “cocktail”. AAERI too has been shouting to all who matter that there is need to re-launch the Australian Education Brand in the Indian market and this job has to begin with the Government and others pooling in. I have written on the need to re-create a “pull” for quality Australian Education in my blogs.

This is the reason why I refer to the comments as an “echo” but certainly welcome. I want to thank all for coming around to the views here… This gives us fresh optimism for 2011. Now the voice will be louder and hence the echoes will be more effective.

Fresh optimism also arise from the New Point Test for General Skilled Migration announced in Australia yesterday.

Though not a Migration “expert” or a Migration “agent”, I have been involved with the industry for a sufficient period of time to be able to gather its merits and demerits. Having said this, my comments below remains an opinion only and can still be plagued by biases. (Though I hope not.)

I find the new point-test to be a huge directional change as far as it attempts at favouring the “university graduates” over “vocationals”.

However, I failed to find any implementation of the hyped commentaries that Australia was delinking migration from international education. I have always maintained that it is just not possible to delink the two as they inter-dependent. Students travelling overseas from markets like India or China do and will continue to seek “post study work or settlement opportunities” and I have made this point even in my earlier blogs. The new point-test too maintains the link in future.

There are several ways in which education will continue to remain a pathway to migration and it is not unique to Australia. Under the proposed point-test, International students graduating after two years of study will get 5 points extra which appears to be of critical importance when the pass mark for PR will be 65. International students who choose to study at campuses away from larger cities will get another 5 points AND there are 5 points for 1 year Australian work experience that in my opinion will be easier for graduating students who move to subclass 485-visa post study. The professional year gives 5 points and can now be counted as additional (not in lieu) of the 1-year OZ experience points.

I want to say THANK YOU to the Minister and the department.

Saying THANK YOU are possibly the following others in Australia:

  1. Migration Agents may find that the new system opens opportunities for them in offshore markets where those with minimum 6.0 IELTS can quite easily make it with a few years of experience and points from partner’s qualification. Also the regional sponsorships will keep them busy.
  2. Private Education Providers are possibly smelling “quick bucks” by way of onshore students attempting to undertake parallel English Classes to enable a higher IELTS and possibly some who might need tutoring for them to clear the requirement for the community language points. The “professional year” is worth exploring too.
  3. Onshore education agents may attempt to market the “professional year” courses and programs and enable thousands of the currently enrolled vocational students at TAFEs to either move through a package onto degrees or move institutions from private diplomas to the universities.
  4. IELTS Australia will certainly once again come out smiling. The unfortunate monopoly that IELTS enjoys (despite TOEFL and PTE lobbying hard) ensures that the higher IELTS score requirements will result in applicants retaking the IELTS several times to clear the tough requirements.
  5. Those in the age group of 30-32 and 45-50 will be delighted with the new point test. The highest points for age are now allotted up-to the age of 32 (and not 30) and the ceiling has been raised to under 50 from the earlier limit of 45.

These are the positives but there are those who seem to be quite disappointed and would say “rightly so too” in “some” cases.

  1. Vocational Courses and providers have been dealt a severe blow. The students who undertake these courses are certainly more “job ready” but will find the point-test more difficult due to less points for diplomas and also due to minimum bench marks set for English proficiency even though their work skills require lower levels. Vocational students at the most undertake 2-year diplomas and hence the age of the graduating student will mostly be around early 20s and now they will get fewer points for being under 25. I feel that Australia has failed to address the needs not just of the TAFE providers who offer quality training but will also lead to skill shortages in Australia in fairly near future once again.
  2. The issue of lower points for those less than 25 years of age also disadvantages graduating Bachelors degree students. Historical evidence will indicate that those who undertake a Bachelors degree over 3 or 4 years in Australia fit in better in the country’s work place even over those who come with Bachelors from elsewhere and undertake a shorter Masters degree.
  3. The provision for the highest English language points to those with 8.0 score in IELTS is too too severe. I challenge an “average” Australian University graduate even with a “distinction” in academics to take the IELTS and get this score in the first attempt. Doctors. Nurses and Teachers world over and including in UK are required to only provide evidence of 7.0 in IELTS which too is considered quite a high bench mark and hence the new 8.0 score requirement for the maximum points is only going to rich-en the providers of the IELTS as the students will be forced to retake IELTS several times.
  4. In India, markets like Punjab, Gujarat and possibly even Hyderabad will find fewer takers even for the quality Aussie degrees or programs.

Having said the above, I welcome the new point-test for two reasons. Firstly, it maintains the pathway for international students studying in Australia to move to PR despite all politically noisy arguments and Secondly, it puts an end to the 9 months of labour(!) ever since the government’s announcement in February that the system will be revamped and then began introducing the policies in “installments” leading to utter chaos.

Now that we have the bricks delivered we can begin re-building Australia once again in the Indian minds.

Disclaimer: Though not a Migration “expert” or a Migration “agent”, I have been involved with the industry for a sufficient period of time to be able to gather its merits and demerits. Having said this, my comments below remains an opinion only and can still be plagued by biases. (Though I hope not.). More authoritative information can only be found on www.immi.gov.au

Oct 8 2010

A crook-Ed tale indeed: Only bollywood and incorrect picturisation of the Indian student issues in Oz.

I am a movie buff but have never been as eager for a movie release as was this day. CROOK was in the newspapers for a year as a story linked to the reported and hyped “attacks” on indian students in Melbourne last year.

Hence I decided to check out the movie in their first day first show this day. 9 am show so that I can finish by around 1130 am or so that I can still get back to office. In a way I am justifying this movie as part of my today’s work and will claim the cost of the tickets from the expense account.

Nikhat Kazmi of TOI gave it a rating of 3/5 which appears to me still as generous. I will not try to do a review or synopsis. here as there will be several more available on the net.

To be honest, the movie is less factual and more of a bollywood fiction. The importance of PR to an Indian student is the theme and the way to get it is said to be only two: either pay an agent and get fake work exp OR get married to an Aussie. Ha ha ha.

The attacks are shown to be more of inter group rivalry with the Aussies gangs being hassled with desis marrying Aussie girls. And attackers are all white Australians. So far removed from the reality where attackers have been largely teenagers muggers and often including kids belonging to various races and also in a focussed incident, an indian.

Snide comments strike out where Australians are referred to as those without cultural values and as descendents of crooks. Are these not racistic generalizations. However in the end the movie blurs the difference between Indians and Australians.

The indian student from Hoshiarpur or Gurdaspur shown to be on full scholarship (McCarthy scholarship to study at Taylors college) is an insult to Indian student’s quality. The guy is a comic and utters pathetic English. All indian students look alike, drive taxis, work in petty jobs and none attend to studies. Even the one with scholarship.

Ha ha ha again.

Gangs can get in easily into hospitals and attempt stabbing Indians. There appears to be an all out indian-aussie gangwar openly on streets. Guns are easily available. Ha ha ha.

Add to this a good dose to revenge, bollywood filmy style. Indians referred as Pakis(!!!) appearing that Pakistanis and Indians join hands against Aussies.

Technically too the story has flaws. None of the drivers wear seat belts and driving licenses are fixed. It’s easy to change identity and reach Australia. There is a scene with snow on the road while it appears to be summer elsewhere.

Are there any positives: the actress keeps insisting on cultural harmony between races and convinces the hero to join her efforts. Melbourne looks beautiful and inviting in parts. There is a scene where Hashmi says that Indians are racist too. Typical bollywood style closure and climax.

That’s all. Just when the media hype on Aussie attacks had been rectified in public memory, we have this twisted story or should I say a crook-Ed tale.

Censors did well by giving it an A rating. Avoidable. Mahesh Bhatt needs to do his homework better. I look forward more to the second test match starting tomorrow in Bangalore and for the Laxman effect.

Aug 6 2010

Damming the “Damned” Migrants !

“Migration is the oldest action against poverty. It selects those who most want help. It is good for the country to which they go; it helps break the equilibrium of poverty in the country from which they come. What is the perversity in the human soul that causes people to resist so obvious a good?”

J.K. Galbraith in The Nature of Mass Poverty, Harvard University Press, 1979.

Observing the debate in Australia where the leaders of both key parties seem to be turning anti-immigration simply for some votes while still making speeches in migrant pockets in a manner that seem to suggest that they are totally confused themselves. The lack-lustre campaign for the 21st August poll is indicative of the fact that Australian politicians are more election-savvy than really having a strategy for their country.

ACPET CEO, Andrew Smith, said no major party has promised any support for international education in the lead-up to the federal election, which is unforgiveable given the scale of economic destruction the industry faces at the hands of poorly planned policy reform.

“The Federal Government has crippled this industry over the past 12 months. The opposition’s cuts to migration would make things even worse. When will our leaders wake up and realise just how much is at stake in this industry?” Mr Smith said. “International education is a great industry for Australia and the region – economically, socially and diplomatically.”

“Yet it beggars belief that the larger international education sector has been ignored by both major political parties as they choose instead to trade blows in a race to the bottom on migration policy that could cripple industry, devastate our international reputation and take away Australian jobs,” Mr Smith said.

“I challenge Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott to show their support for Australia’s third-largest export industry and one of its great export success stories, and announce policies to help us build a sustainable industry for the future.”

Australian Government VET providers from the state of Victoria have taken out a release that indicates exactly what the Private Education Provider’s lobby group has said.

RE email

Universities Australia too seem to be using its interactions with the Government to put forth their focused arguments for a slow-down on the anti-immigration vitriolic that has now become a fashion.

I am a resident of Australia and hence donot have a vote. Voting in elections is mandatory for citizens and this gets me to ponder albeit academically as to who would have won my vote. Liberals or the Labour.

In my role I have had the pleasure of close interaction with policy makers and the Ministers with loyalty to both sides of the spectrum. To me there is not much to choose from. While in India last year, the current PM and the leader of the Labour party, Miss Julia Gillard, spoke so eloquently on the advantages of the migration policies and the fact that 1 out of 5 Australian was born outside of Australia. She also used her own example to illustrate that even the first generation migrants have equal opportunity in Australia. However, the election rhetoric is suggesting something else.

I have just put down an excellent read IMMIGRANTS – YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS THEM by PHILIPPE LEGRAIN and I recommend it to all policy makers… Impressed by some of his arguments, I will like to borrow some questions asked by him…

… most people baulk at the thought of people from poor countries coming to work in rich ones.

Why? Why can computers be imported from China duty-free but Chinese people not feely come to make computers here? Why is it a good thing for French insurance salespeople to hawk policies in Poland but a bad thing for Polish plumbers to offer to fix French pipes? Why is the door open for American managers to run factories in Honduras but the door slammed shut for Hondurans who want to work in American factories? Why, in short, is free trade and the free movement of Western elites a wonderful thing but the free movement of everybody else unthinkable? And why is it a good thing for workers to move within a country to where the jobs are, but a bad thing for people to move between countries for the same reason?

Sober-minded economists reckon that the potential gains from freer global migration are huge and greatly exceed the benefits from freer world trade.

If you are skeptical about the merits of globalization, you may not be swayed by the argument that the case for freer migration follows on logically from freer trade – although you might be, since I am essentially arguing that rich countries should open their borders to service-providers from poor countries, which is not a million miles away from arguing that rich countries should open their markets to farm produce from poor countries. But another way of looking at the case for freer international migration is this: if you want to help people in poor countries, freer migration is one of the most effective ways of doing so.

I can go on quoting LSE educated Philippe but that will not be right. You should get hold of a copy of this book read it yourself. It will be very useful and money well spent. However, if the Australian policy makers want a copy, I can contribute too.

Skilled Migration can have several benefits and amongst them is that foreigners may have different skills and qualities – or superior ones. According to an old joke, in heaven the cooks are French, the police are British, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian, and everything is organized by the Swiss; in hell the cooks are British, the police is German, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss and everything is organized by the Italians. If these national stereotypes are correct, and the French are particularly talented cooks, then it would make sense for France to specialize in training chefs and export some of them. But not all cooks are the same, and Americans also like Asian cuisine, they might also want to import chefs from Asia. Moreover, the bubbling pot of immigrants from around the world may inspire innovative fusion cooking that blends the national cuisines in appetizing new ways.

Another useful skill that immigrants have is knowledge o their country of origin, which can be a big help for local companies who want to export there. And since, as one of the people interviewed by Philip and of an Indian origin puts it. “Immigrants bring a burning desire to succeed and make themselves”, foreigners can boost productivity and economic growth – especially if the extra competition they bring spurs locals to up their game too.

Australians, be reminded that in 2001, John Howard came from behind in the polls to win the General Election by declaring that “we will decide, and nobody else, who comes to this country” and turning back a boat laden with Afghan refugees. It is John Howard who has now been blamed by the Labour Government for opening Australia’s Immigration policies… There seems to be a contradiction somewhere indeed.

“Strangers instinctively question things that natives take for granted. They stimulate new perspectives because, simply, many things strike them as odd and stupid. That’s why it’s great for any tribe to have a smart stranger injected into it.”

G. Pascal Zachary, The Diversity Advantage. (Quoted in Phillip Legrain’s book)

May 8 2010

The world of International education… this week.

A lot has happened in our world this week with direct and indirect impact on the Industry that I belong to…

Sibal tabled the Education Reforms bills:

Irrespective of whether I agree or disagree with Sibal and his directions, all the bills prepared by the MOHRD were tabled in the Parliament. Guys, it will take a long time even from now but the direction is certainly being shown. It may mean a few modifications and a few months but certainly the Foreign Education Bill in some form or other will be passed… You already know my take on the bills through my earlier blogs. Will India gain? It will. Will it gain enough? It will not. Will it justify the reasons being put forward? Never.

Australia defered the SOL announcement and has now suspended the Skills Migration lodgments temporarily…

The deferment of the SOL is actually a cause of anxiety for the potential applicants in Australia (onshore students who have or are completing their courses or on the TR) and also overseas. It is a cause of anxiety to all those who are planning education in Australia. Once again, you may say that PR and Education should not have a link BUT every student wanting to study does want to know if the occupation that he is planning for is an occupation in demand. The temporary suspension of the Migration lodgments is an indication of some things to come. There is a situation on the ground with many onshore with some expectation from the Australian Government. In the election year, will the Government be a little flexible or more inflexible?

Australian Immigration has re-registered Education Agents in India.

Just done a blog on 5th May and have added a postscript to that too. This is a turning point in the industry in India. You reap what you sow…

UK election result and its impact on Immigration.

Clearly the Tories are heading towards forming the government but the fact that they donot have clear majority is an advantage to some sections of the industry. The Tories agenda on Immigration was clearly a reversal of the labour-flexibility and almost like the current Ozzie mindset.

Conservatives

  1. Believe that immigration today is too high and needs to be reduced. Steps will be taken to reduce net migration to “tens of thousands a year, not hundreds of thousands”.
  2. Student visa system will be tightened up to clamp down on abuse:
  3. Make it easier for reputable institutions to accept applications.
  4. Extra scrutiny on new institutions and institutions not registered with Companies House
  5. Insist foreign students at new or unregistered institutions pay a bond in order to study in this country, to be repaid after the student has left the country at the end of their studies
  6. Ensure foreign students can prove that they have the financial means to support themselves in the UK
  7. Require that students must usually leave the country and reapply if they want to switch to another course or apply for a work permit.

More on http://blog.conservatives.com/index.php/2010/03/08/the-student-visa-security-loophole-must-be-closed/

(Thanks Rahul for sharing this…)

However, not having the majority and being forced to bed with the Liberal Democrats will mean that they may have to work on a “Common Minimum Program” and hence we can look forward to some softening on their agenda. The success of several “first generation migrants” in the elections including those from the subcontinent too means that there will be a more inclusive UK in future too. Just as a reminder Liberal Democrats are actually asking for amnesty for the illegal migrants… Interesting bed-fellows indeed.

Looking forward to the coming week with anticipation…

… Australia should soon announce the SOL.

… UK should get its coalition government.

… Time for Mangoes and Litchi now that Nor’wester has hit town.