Category Archives: Uncategorized

Apr 9 2012

Utter SVP chaos! Ozzie Universities to learn swimming, sans instructor or manual.

Streamlining Visa Processing is not really turning out to be as per design. The visa part of the processing may become so but rest of the process is jumbled up with little expectation of SVP enabling streamlining in practice for the forthcoming intake.

First some facts…

  • SVP was a decision taken by DIAC in late 2011 and announced at that time itself that it will be implemented to suit the mid year (July) intake of Universities in 2012. Keeping this in mind, an action plan did develop and Universities were almost cajoled into signing into it. It has been now implemented w.e.f. 24th March 2012.
  • The SVP looks very good on paper and if implemented properly, it will be a game changer and may really be the caffeine needed at this time.
  • Though the Universities have signed onto it, ONLY two institutions (one is “the leading” Private University and the other is a “one” Private Business Partner of an University) that has got its part right and has provided its agents with clear guidelines on the processes. All others have only forwarded and re-forwarded the immi web links and FAQ and the matrix as provided by DIAC with some vague guidelines indicating that work is in progress to get the act right.

It is true that the Universities have agreed to the SVP but interestingly the homework is so incomplete on the part of the Universities. One would have thought that the Universities will be ready with their checklists and requirements right on the date of DIAC implementation so that any student applying for a visa on the very first day, will be able to do so. But that did not happen. In an earlier blog I did point out some lacunae in SVP that required fixing but here, in this article, the focus is on efficient implementation of a policy that is agreed upon by the stake holders!

I don’t fault only the Universities on this but also DIAC for rushing the Universities into it without a realization that the skills that the Universities possess are primarily academic and has not much to do with entry clearance. They agreed to build this in but the time provided to them did not consider the manpower issues and also budgetary constraints that plague many of the institutions. Having said this, the Universities could have huddled and lobbied for this implementation to be pushed to a later date. They did not and hence they gave an impression that they were ready. Now they get what they deserve.

Let me share some real examples of the confusion.

A student who has to apply the visa for a Bachelors degree beginning with a six-month foundation where the program begins in April could only lodge visa today after going around in circles for a few weeks. The reason for the delay: Both the University and the Business Partner which runs the foundation were clue-less and without any set format for an undertaking or to gauge the financials.

The advise of the business partner institution was that they are not fully certain and so we should take advise of DIAC.

‘As far as we know there is no particular form to be filled for SVP.  We however recommend that you contact DIAC directly for confirmation.’

We did ask the DIAC and was advised to contact the University that has to take the onus under SVP. The response of the University was even more reflective of the confusion that exists currently. When we failed to get a reply from the admissions office in the first instance, a senior member of the marketing team was contacted. The reply on 5th April…

‘The streamline process has not been implemented yet so I am not sure what you are asking.’

What? My understanding was that the SVP was implemented on the 24th March itself… Has it been put on hold or am I missing a piece in the puzzle! We did correct the institution’s perception based on our perception but the issue regarding the visa lodgment remained and the student had to be served. And the issue regarding the confusion generally in the industry became even more obvious to me.

The DIAC was contacted again and we decided to go ahead with the lodgment ‘under SVP” but with as much of financial documents as possible and allowing every reason for the application to be approved.

This is not the only example. One institution was under the impression that while they will take time to figure out the SVP and their own document requirements, they planned to advise the agents to apply for the unsure cases under regular AL3 regulations. The precise question that bothered them was…

‘Is it true that if a university opts for SVP, then the university cannot tell its non registered agents that they will have to process applications non SVP.’

Once again, I did confirm from my understanding that for participating Universities and their business partners, there are no two channels. All applications for eligible programs have to be under SVP alone. Matter resolved but the point about the confusion on the part of education providers continue.

Not just education providers, some of these questions are leading to wrong advise being passed on by students too by some possibly more responsible education agents. In an all-India advertising dressed as editorial in Times of India, they advise the market…

‘Students who do not wish to be assessed under the SVP may continue to apply for their visa under the regular system in Sun-Class 573-AL 3(or as the case may be) where they have to show funds in acceptable format for a specified period of time.’

This is an incorrect advise in my opinion and I wonder where did the agent pick this up. The DIAC information session that was attended to by all active education agents certainly did not indicate this advice.

It is not just the Universities, their nominated business partners and their contracted agents who continue to live in the chaos, even the DIAC does…

Any education agent that lodges visas under eVisa will confirm that once they lodge the visa, the system requires them to attach Agent Checklist and other requirements that are dated November 2011 and requires all financial matrixes… even today under SVP when the financials can at the most be part of the “recommended” list of DIAC as per policy. Hence, the system at DIAC is taking its time to change when we would expect all such homework to be in order before the system is rolled out. We are talking about DIAC now and hence such shortcomings are not expected.

I have brought this to the attention of DIAC and have received a very helpful response. They will communicate this to the onshore processing unit and hopefully it will be fixed soon. Hence, in the meanwhile, the visa couldn’t be lodged under eVisa and went in for paper based processing.

In a way, this was good, since the general opinion of all stakeholders is that the Delhi post of DIAC is possibly much more efficient and responsive than any others. One institution wrote the following when they were shared with the “precise and clear” presentation made by DIAC’s Delhi post, within days of the changes…

I congratulate the processes taken by India, light years ahead of DIAC in PRC.

I agree with this for sure… SVP is a very good development if all can get their act together and implement it in a way that it does streamline international education industry overall.

NO DISCLAIMERS THIS TIME… All quotes are real and exact without any change in wordings. The purpose of the quotes was to make the larger point. The Universities can be thrown into the water but for them to be able to learn swimming, they do need an instructor and a manual… leadership is required too that can help mobilize this. Otherwise, they will drown and with them the hope for a revival too will drown.

Mar 28 2012

India’s university system in ‘deep crisis’

Unaccredited and often entirely fake colleges have sprung up all over India as demand for higher education accelerates. In the booming New Delhi suburb of Gurgaon, there are dozens of one-room shops offering degrees in engineering, management, pharmacy, nursing and computers.

By Rama Lakshmi, Published: March 27, Washington Post.

ALIGARH, India — After studying for two years to be a teacher, Anam Naqvi found out that the degree her school offers is worthless. Now, instead of attending classes and finishing a mandatory internship, she and her classmates protest every day outside the gate to their university in the northern city of Aligarh.

It is a story being replayed across many Indian cities. Poorly regulated, unaccredited and often entirely fake colleges have sprung up as demand for higher education accelerates, driven by rising aspirations and a bulging youth population.

“New colleges are mushrooming everywhere, but many are flouting norms,” said Nilofer Kazmi, director of the government’s regulatory commission for higher education. “Many are conducting courses that have no approval or accreditation from the government regulators.”

More than 5 million Indians enter the 15-to-24 age group every year, adding a demographic thrust to the demand for more colleges and universities. Properly educated and employed, these young people could bring the country a demographic dividend, the sort of surge in growth that buoyed many of the Asian “tiger” economies from the 1960s to the 1990s. But if India does not create high-quality colleges for its youths, it risks reaping a demographic disaster.

The higher education commission recently released a list of 21 “fake universities,” many of them no more than a mailing address or signboard hanging over a shop, temple or hole-in-the-wall office space. A government regulator that focuses on technical schools named 340 private institutions across India that run courses without its accreditation. Of more than 31,000 higher education institutions, only 4,532 universities and colleges are accredited.

“India’s university system is in a deep crisis,” said Devesh Kapur, director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania, who has written extensively on the subject. “There are so many regulatory barriers to setting up a college or university that it deters honest groups but encourages those who are willing to pay bribes. Millions of young Indians will have high expectations, paper credentials, but will be poorly educated. We can be absolutely sure that it is not going to be pretty.”

A need for more schools

India aims to raise its college enrollment rate to 21 percent in five years, up from 13 percent now. In contrast, the enrollment rate is 23 percent in China and 34 percent in Brazil. Kapur said that to reach its target, India would have to open one new college every working day for the next four years.

With much of the government’s money directed toward combating rural illiteracy by boosting primary school education, the private sector has filled the gap for colleges. Even so, many of India’s colleges and universities — both private and public — face acute shortages of faculty, ill-equipped libraries, outdated curricula and poor infrastructure, according to a report last year by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Ernst & Young.

Mar 13 2012

You may not like the message but don’t shoot the messenger (i.e. British Council)!

British Council accused of undermining Government immigration policy

A quango that is meant to promote Britain overseas has been accused of trying to undermine Government policy on immigration.

1 in 7 foreign students enrolled at private colleges don’t attend their courses, it is claimed. Photo: ALAMY
By Martin Beckford, Home Affairs Editor, The Telegraph. (The full article on link)

7:00AM GMT 12 Mar 2012

The British Council claims that new plans to restrict the number of international students at this country’s universities will damage the economy and affect the education sector’s “brand”.

It warns that both Australia and the USA suffered when their governments tightened up entry requirements for undergraduates in recent years.

But a leading pressure group says the British Council, the Government’s international cultural relations body, drew “exactly the wrong lessons” from the other countries’ experiences.

Migration Watch UK says that the studying route is open to abuse and that the authorities are correct to crack down on it.

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: “It is surprising that a Government-funded body should be issuing material designed to undercut Government policy and even more surprising that they should have tried to spin their report to suggest that tightening our visa system would discourage genuine applicants.

Students from overseas, particularly Asia and Africa, account for a large proportion of new arrivals to Britain and until recently there has been little attempt made to track their movements after graduation.

A major part of the Coalition’s goal of reducing net migration to “tens of thousands” a year, therefore, is to restrict the numbers being handed student visas from a high of some 300,000 a year.

Students on English language courses can now only stay for 11 months while the cost of visas has risen. Under another change made just before the election, applicants must be able to speak English before they can move to a campus here.

From next month, foreign students will not be allowed to remain in the country after graduation unless they have an offer of a skilled job.

A report by the British Council, which has not been widely circulated but which was discussed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme in February, warns that the stricter policies will lead to a “downward trend” in international student enrolments.

It says the recent changes mean Britain now has the “toughest immigration regime” which will “detract genuine and career-driven” applicants.

This will reduce the £14billion contribution to the economy made by overseas students and could lead to a shortage of science and engineering skills, it is claimed.

Meanwhile the closure of private colleges will “have a negative impact on the UK education brand as a quality destination”.

Its conclusions are based on the experiences of Australia, which saw lower overseas students after getting tough on bogus applicants, and the USA, which made immigration more difficult following 9/11.

But Migration Watch UK says there the study found no correlation between stricter entry requirements and student applications, and that other factors played important roles in the drop in numbers.

The pressure group says both Australia and the USA found that the student route of immigration is a “very likely source of serious abuse” and points out that both countries interview prospective students, unlike Britain.

It says bogus colleges have been uncovered in this country as well as supposed students who were working full-time, which is more damaging to the reputation of higher education sector.

Dr Jo Beall, the British Council’s director of education and society, said: “The British Council completely backs the government’s intention to attract genuine students who make a huge economic and academic contribution to Britain, so we feel obliged to point out when independent evidence suggests there’s a risk that current policy may mean the UK loses out to our competitors.

“We want to help government combat that and universities to attract the brightest and best students and researchers”.

Mar 11 2012

Private Schooling, Foreign Education and Indian Politics !

The 2012 elections have led media to remind that the battle for Punjab was a battle between Lawrence School, Sanawar and The Doon School and the battle for Uttar Pradesh was between one with foreign education from west (read Rahul Gandhi) versus the other with foreign education from down under (read Akhilesh Yadav).

This is a bit too simplistic and let me iron out the distortions clearly. However there has to be some disclaimers. The first being that private schooling (referred in India ironically as Public schooling) is a done deal for many families and the general preference for “better” schools is completely understandable. In smaller towns with limited number of “better” schools, families “affluent or otherwise” have opted to have their children study at the “residential private schools” such as “Doon, Sanawar, Scindia or Mayo…”. The parents in North have preferred the named while those from South may have opted for Rishi Valley or Lovedale, from west may opt for Daly College and those from East may have headed for Paul’s. In earlier days, there was also a desire amongst parents to look at those whom they admired and hence chose the schooling for their children. Once “harrow educated” Nehru preferred Doon for his grand children, several parents including mine decided to register their children for admit to Doon. Similarly for the other schools. The disclaimer continues that the old-school network too helps in the way that friends help friends.
My understanding is that Amrinder Singh was brought into active politics by Rajiv Gandhi and that both of them were friends at Doon. Now we see their sons (Raninder and Rahul) in politics at the same time. Is this not understandable since friendships matter. Not just within the same political party but also across. Kamal Nath was required to knock on Naveen Patnaik to get support on the Nuclear Vote since both were class mates… Infact there is evidence that those from similar schools tend to bond with each others too as is evident from the reported friendship between Omar Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi.
However, I am of the opinion that apart from the above networking, the residential schools imbibe in boys (and girls) a belief in discipline that goes a long way. “Never Give In” has been the motto for Sanawar and to this date Sanawarians around the world take inspiration from this at the time of adversities. Omar Abdullah mentioned this too at some occasion over last year.
This aspect of a residential school is not just found in “so called” elite schools but also in any form of boarding schooling and possibly even more in Army Schools and Sainik Schools which are so common in the Hindi Heartland. At one time parents from Bihar opted to have their boys attempt entry into “Netarhat” and hence I would club all these schools into the same bracket. One of the better Hindi movies “Hip Hip Hooray” (Prakash Jha directed and featuring Dipti Naval) showed the life at Vikas Vidyalay in Ranchi which resonated so much with the lives of boys at Doon or Sanawar.
“Better” schools also focuses on the “all round” development of children and not just on academics. This includes “public speaking”, “leadership”, “brotherhood” and “independent thinking”. All these are very useful traits in politics.
Now coming to the recent Punjab elections… All three of the main players: Sukhbir Badal, Amrinder Singh and Manpreet Badal have been educated at residential boarding schools. Sukhbir at Sanawar, Manpreet at Doon and Amrinder at Sanawar and then Doon. My understanding is that their children too have studied(of Amrinder), studying (of Manpreet) or will study (of Sukhbir) at boarding schools. I would actually stretch out and say that Punjab is slightly different to other states and this is thanks to the affluence leading to families aspiring solid education for their families. The “show off” attitude too works towards it. Flashing the schooling of the children is no different to flashing an Audi or Merc !
There is really no rivalry between schools as far as the politics of the land of five-rivers is considered and I am reminded of a news item from 2009 that reported the inter-play of the two schools at the time of Lok Sabha elections. The article actually indicates that both the camps have products of both the schools… interesting…
Whosoever said old school ties prove stronger than even those of blood, probably had in mind a scene akin to the one being played out in the fiercest ever poll battle being fought in Bathinda.
In this once non-descript, laidback Malwa town of Punjab, a bunch of ex-Doscos and Sanawarians have gathered in the din and dust of Lok Sabha elections to help out friends and candidates. The candidates are Raninder Singh of Congress and Harsimrat Kaur, or, to be precise, her husband, Sukhbir badal, the president of Shiromani Akali Dal.
Raninder, is a product of Doon School, Dehradun, and Sukhbir of Lawrence School, Sanawar, Himachal Pradesh. Interestingly, there are equal number of ex-Doscos and Sanawarians in both camps. And to top it all, this close-knit group frequent the same clubs in Delhi, meet frequently at parent-teacher meets in Vasant Valley School, and share tips on new farming techniques as all of them own huge farms in Punjab, Haryana or Delhi and live in palatial mansions in the Indian capital.
Raninder’s camp, primarily crowded by fellow Doscos like cousin brothers Randeep and Sarabdeep Mann, Satinder Gill and Jasdeep Nikku, also boasts of a Sanawarian, Amar Jung Sidhu, who is managing his media campaign. On the other hand, a Sanawarian like Sukhbir had made a ex-Dosco, Jaswinder Singh Bull incharge of his wife Harsimrat’s media management. Raninder enjoyed the company of another Sanawarian and a Bhutan royal, Jigme Wangdi Wangchuk, who campaigned with his friend for two days before the heat and dust of polling resulted in a heat stroke, forcing him to leave Bathinda.
Courtesy Sukhbir’s cousin, Manpreet Badal, who is also from Doon School, a number of Doscos like Paramjit Mann and Barjinder Mann who are incidentally related to the Mann cousins in Raninder camp and belong to a politician family from Karnal are hanging out in Sukhbir’s camp. Manpreet too is helping out sister-in-law Harsimrat. Among Sukhbir’s Sanawarian crowd is Jagdeep Nakai, MLA from Joga.

In fact, Raninder was the guardian of Jaswinder Bull in Doon, being one batch senior to him, and taught him how to tie turban, old-timers recall. But, even as these old boys find themselves on the opposite sides of the political camps, back in Delhi, their next generation, ie, the children of both Raninder and Sukhbir, go to the same Vasant Valley school.

The mood is best captured by Bull, who hails from a prominent landed family and is also friends with Raninder’s media campaign incharge, Amar Jung Sidhu, a landowner and progressive farmer from Patiala. “We are here to offer moral support to our friends, but we have no personal stakehere, nor are we slamming each others candidates.”

Moving on to UP now where the mother of all political battles are always fought…
The state gives the maximum number of parliamentarians and has given most of the prime ministers to the country. Hence the media focus has been on two young leaders who were determined to throw the Mayawati led government. One is Rahul Gandhi, a product of Doon School and then educated at Cambridge and Harvard and the other being Akhilesh Yadav, a product of Sainik School and then after doing Engineering in Mysore, having studied Environment Engg in Sydney in Australia.
With this setting, it is not unusual that media and commentators compared the two education routes… One shown up as elite and “away from grass roots” and the other shown up as more grounded. However all referred to both of them as “foreign educated”.
Media summarised (see link) …
It is a disservice to Akhilesh to call him foreign-educated. He has a Sainik school education – still considered in many parts of India as the most disciplined schooling that a young boy can get. He studied at the Sainik School in Dhaulpur, Rajasthan. Akhilesh then did his Bachelor of Engineering and Masters of Engineering in Civil Environment Engineering at the University of Mysore in Karnataka. Only then did he get his “foreign education” – a Masters degree in environmental engineering from the University of Sydney in Australia.
Akhilesh played his card right and only gave interviews in chaste Hindi to be able to reach each and every of his voters when there are reports that not only Hindi and English but he can actually also speak in Kannada. His foreign exposure reflected in his changing of his party’s stance vis-a-vis English and use of Computers while his disciplined schooling reflected in his strong will to instill law and order in the state. Interesting interplay of education as one would say. I would say that donot rule out Rahul. He has been working on 2014 national elections and UP was just a preparation for the same. There are polls that suggest that electorate in India votes for one party in the state and for another party in the centre based on the elections. Hence while Akhilesh’s party is a state party, Rahul is seen a possible Prime Minister from UP in 2014.
There is also another aspect of old-school tie. One is often heard whispering that media creates leaders and highlights certain… Hence the fact that NDTV(Prannoy Roy) and India Today(Aroon Poorie) are run by Doscos while there are other boarding school products that influence other channels : Karan Thapar (Doon) and Vir Sanghvi (Mayo). There are several others too…
Picture abhi baki hai dost!
Feb 18 2012

“Optionless” OZ Universities give-in; to become visa officers!!!

UNIVERSITIES will put their reputations on the line by signing up to the streamlined visa processing system. The government will monitor the system and publicise any warnings issued or loss of eligibility status.

The Australian’s Higher Education Supplement informed the above through its article on this link

Will they or Will they not has been the question hanging in the air for some weeks now, not just for observers but also for the employed in these Universities.

Is this what they have been set up for? Is it to vet the documents (financials) and check for genuinity and then issue a letter that can lead to fast-tracked and streamlined visa processing. Maybe this is the modern definition of the job of a University…

The dictionary gives the role of a University as:

university |ˌyo͞onəˈvərsətē|

noun ( pl. universities )

an educational institution designed for instruction, examination, or both, of students in many branches of advanced learning, conferring degrees in various faculties, and often embodying colleges and similar institutions: [ in names ] : Oxford University | the University of California | [ as modifier ] : the university buildings | a university professor.

Recently I met with several institutions and wanted to only know as to how they intend to handle this role. The very few who seemed to know or wanted to be seen as one seemingly knowing, mentioned that they will work with their agents to find a way to deliver the requirements. Wow… Finally, the immigration is indirectly telling Universities that there are some good agents and that some agents do good work and that good Universities need to work with these good agents.

I am already gearing up to be able to do my part but the lurking fear is that if I or any of the other agents miss-out knowingly or unknowingly… The Universities will risk moving to a lower Assessment Level. Not fair to the University at all!

Another very interesting prospect: If a lower perceived institution with limited clout is moved down the assessment leval, it will be seen as right but “What if a Group Of Eight institution is moved to AL3?” Firstly, I do not believe that the Immigration will ever take such a step and if it does, they should be prepared for the full streamlining to be reviewed… Some Universities are indeed “Holy Cows” around the world! The other not-so Universities are already dancing to prove their caste by canceling “unconditional offer letters” based on “so called interviews after the student has made payment of fees”, aimed only at demonstrating that they should remain included in all DIAC plans. (I actually wonder if those Universities know the meaning of “unconditional” when they issue the offers of place. Will do a separate blog to show how such institutions are in the wrong already and will encourage the affected students to approach consumer protection bodies and ESOS provisions.). Now back to “streamlining”…

Another question: The customer for the visa office is the student who pays a set application fee. Why should he get a different treatment based on the compliance rate of the University he chooses? Should he not get the treatment based on his or her credentials alone when the visa fee and the process is meant to be the same.

Yes, I may not know all the facts and I may not know what is happening but what I know is the article from The Australian that I quoted above and from which I quote now…

It is understood some universities initially baulked at the increased obligations, but with rival universities keen to sign up to exploit the marketing boost they will get, most are expected to eventually join the system.

And

The Immigration Department will rate each participating university’s risk, based on the performance of its prospective and actual students against their visa obligations. The more students in breach of their visas, or with visas cancelled or refused, the higher a university’s risk weighting will be.

Large numbers of students subsequently applying for residency after their studies will also increase the risk level.

There will be five assessment levels, but to be eligible for streamlined processing, universities must maintain at least an AL1 or AL2 rating, and those down to AL3 will have six months to improve before being thrown out.

I am fine with the fact that roles of institutions can change but can only imagine DIAC laughing with the fact that Universities have given in. Now the Immigration can collect the hefty visa application fee and at the same time get the Universities to do all the job that they were not originally set up for AND which most believe, they will just not manage to undertake.

Feb 3 2012

Are these fair promotions… Certainly they cannot be owned by Universities!

They say that IDP is co-owned by Australian Universities… If yes, why will they attempt at sabotaging the promotion of Australian Education where 26 Universities participated… Something is amiss.

Global Reach organized a major exhibition of Australian Universities in Kolkata… However IDP was found giving out information leaflets just outside the venue… This is also fine!

What is shocking that full stretches of roads around the venue where the Global Reach Australian Education Fairs were advertised through wall posters were found to have been deliberately covered in a manner that the turnout at the Global Reach run Australian Education Fair was low. That did not happen due to sheer goodwill that GR has in Kolkata but the very act on part of IDP demonstrates the new low that it has engaged with. 

Certainly it cannot be owned by Australian Universities! If it is, then why did it try to sabotage the very event where 26 Universities were participating to promote Australian Education…

Jan 20 2012

The school girl who told Oxford: So sorry, but you didn’t pass MY interview

  • Elly Nowell, 19, tells Magdalen College it ‘did not quite meet the standard of universities I will be considering’
  • She writes that she found ‘obvious gap’ between minorities and white middle-class students ‘embarrassing’

It is not often that Oxford University finds itself receiving a rejection letter from a would-be student, rather than issuing them with one.

So it will have raised a few scholarly eyebrows when state-educated Elly Nowell, 19, wrote to the elite institution’s Magdalen College without even waiting to hear whether her application to read law had been successful.

In a parody of Oxford’s own rejection letters, she told admissions tutors: ‘I realise you may be disappointed by this decision, but you were in competition with many fantastic universities and following your interview I am afraid you do not quite meet the standard of the universities I will be considering.’

Rejection: A-level student Elly Nowell is predicted to get A*s in history, law and English literatureMocking: A-level student Elly Nowell, who is predicted A*s in history, law and English literature, sent a scathing rejection letter to Magdalen College, Oxford

Miss Nowell, who says she changed her mind about Oxford after being put off by her experience at interview, claimed  its admissions process was biased against state-school pupils – despite them making up more than half the university’s intake.

She wrote: ‘Whilst you may believe your decision to hold interviews in grand formal settings is inspiring, it allows public school applicants to flourish in the environment they are accustomed to and intimidates state school applicants, distorting the true academic potential of both.’

The teenager also claimed there were ‘significant flaws’ in Oxford’s education system and argued that the ‘gap between elitism and discrimination’ was a  ‘narrow one’ that the college had not ‘adequately addressed’.

Rejected: Elly Nowell told Magdalen College, which counts Foreign Secretary William Hague among its alumni, that there were 'significant flaws' in its education systemRejected: Elly Nowell told Magdalen College, which counts Foreign Secretary William Hague among its alumni, that there were ‘significant flaws’ in its education system

She wrote: ‘Whilst you may believe your traditions and rituals are impressive, they reflect badly on your university…frankly, I feel humiliated for both you and your students.’

Describing the interview process as ‘torture’, she accused the college of being ‘rude’ for not offering her a glass of water.

She also claimed there was an ‘obvious gap’ between minorities and white middle-class students that she found ‘embarrassing’.

Letter in full: The rejection letter that Elly Nowell, 19, sent to Oxford University via emailLetter in full: The rejection letter that Elly Nowell, 19, sent to Oxford University via email

Miss Nowell, of Winchester, Hampshire, even cheekily warned the university to hold off on any attempts to ‘reapply’ and wished it ‘every success in future’.

‘Whilst you may believe your decision to hold interviews in grand formal settings is inspiring, it allows public school applicants to flourish in the environment they are accustomed to and intimidates state school applicants, distorting the true academic potential of both.’

Oxford yesterday hit back at her claims, pointing to figures that show that for 2010 entry, 55.4 per cent of places for UK students went to state school pupils.

Full figures for UK 2011 entry are not yet available but 58.5 per cent of offers were to state school pupils.

A spokesman said: ‘The irony is that six out of the seven people offered law places at Magdalen were state-educated.

‘It’s really important to understand that school attainment is the biggest factor affecting Oxford’s mix of students – not the way Oxford selects them.’

Magdalen College, which counts among its alumni Foreign Secretary William Hague, Private Eye editor Ian Hislop, documentary-maker Louis Theroux and Oscar Wilde, interviewed Miss Nowell, a student at Brockenhurst College, Hampshire, in December.

She is predicted to get A*s in her history, law and English literature A-levels, and now hopes to read law at University College London.

She said: ‘It was during my interview that I finally realised subjecting myself to the judgment of an institution I fundamentally disagreed with was bizarre.

‘I spent my entire time at the university laughing at how seriously they were taking everything and felt like the only atheist in a gigantic monastery.’

Oxford students took to Twitter to vent their anger at Miss Nowell yesterday. One, going under the name ‘jpspencer2’, said: ‘Elly Nowell has no idea what it is like to go to Oxford. Her own stupid and narrow-minded opinions show why she would not be fit to go here.’

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2088710/Elly-Nowell-sends-Oxford-OWN-rejection-letter-criticising-grand-interview-setting.html#ixzz1jzhQo1ux

Jan 20 2012

Foreign University Bill ready for Indian Parliament… Long way still to go!

India looks to open university market, again: bill ready for parliament

  • ·                                 From:The Australian 
  • ·                                 December 28, 2011

INDIA has taken a significant step on the long march to admitting international universities with a parliamentary committee sending a new draft of the 2010 Foreign Universities bill to cabinet just before Christmas. Cabinet approved a much debated version of the original proposal in March 2010.

The legislation was left in a legislative no-mans land for months, due to parliamentary opposition and disquiet among local universities at the prospect of foreign competition.

The bill allows universities with 20 years good-standing in their home countries to set up shop on posting a bond

But even if the bill passes into law India will not become a free market in higher education, with a committee of academic experts deciding on which universities qualify for fast-tracking through the approval processes. And it will bring international institutions which now operate in India but award foreign qualifications under local regulations.

The legislation also requires reinvestment of any profit in the local campus.

However it allows twinning arrangements – suiting institutions keen to expand sources of international students at senior undergraduate level for their home campuses.

Critics of the proposal claim that high fee foreign schools will do nothing to increase access to higher education and that they will drain research and teaching talent away from Indian institutions.

While there is no national register, there are believed to be 160 international universities operating in India, nearly all of them from the US and UK.

In effect India is intent on a quick and economic expansion of the post school system  – without being overwhelmed by opportunists interested in a quick quid rather than course quality.

However the possibilities of the Indian market are still attracting interest among the major competitors in the international education industry. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed a US-India higher education summit in October and Australian higher education minister Chris Evans pitched for more Indian business in an August visit.

The challenge if, rather than when, the bill passes (it is still to be put to a vote on the floor of the Lok Sabha) is for institutions to get their administrative ducks in a row without being caught in interminable administrative process. Deakin Universityspent four years trying to set up an Indian research centre in Bagalore before giving up in the face of state and federal bureaucracy.

Nor will India be a low cost market to do business in. Education marketing expert Allison Doorbar warns Indian students studying with a western university in India will expect to see academics from the home campus at the front of the class.

Jan 14 2012

This can be an apt image to use for Aussie Education promotions!

Yesterday as I watched the innings of David Warner, I couldn’t help the thought that occurred after noticing the gaping Indian greats in the slips. Sachin in first slip, Dravid in second and VVS in the third… Sehwag was in Gully while Gambhir was also close by… it looked as an image of dedicated students sitting in first row of a classroom taking lessons from the master… Hence like a promotion for Australian Education… Indian students who have travelled across this month to study the out of form batsmen too return to form and …

What a sad month for Indian cricket!!! As an Indian in Australia, it has not just let us down but the fact that we have a captain who is so clue-less. I had the privilege of attending their nets in Sydney and noticing the body language, it was not difficult to predict what happened. We lost the first test match with one day spare. Lost the second with one innings spare and now in the third one, we are looking at winding up the full match with two days to spare… Definitely an improvement!