The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 21,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 8 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
déjà vu |ˌdāZHä ˈvo͞o|
noun
a feeling of having already experienced the present situation.
I read the reports of the killing of an innocent Indian student in UK with complete shock… As a counselor, we often advise students and parents as to how safe education overseas is, provided a student is also careful… However, in this particular case, it appears that there is nothing apparent that indicates that the student was at a “wrong place and at a wrong time”.
DNA and other media channels report…
The news of a Pune student’s senseless murder in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom (UK) on December 26, has shocked and stunned his family in Pune which is struggling to come to terms with the tragedy on multiple fronts.
According to reports from the UK, Anuj Bidve (23), an ex-student of the Sinhagad College of Engineering, was strolling along the footpath at Salford in Greater Manchester at 1.34 am on December 26, celebrating Christmas with his friends when two white boys got into a conversation with him and one of them allegedly shot him in the head and fled.
I however find the news a little bothersome…. The media has jumped at pointing out that the killers are “white” and quotes the parents as stating that “We suspect Anuj is a victim of a racist attack.” I am 100% certain that this comment from the family must have been a result of the journalist asking the pointed question to the grieving family. What will the family state if it is being informed that the killers belong to a particular race. The investigation is in early stages at this state and hence the British Media ofcourse points this out in British defence…
On Tuesday, Ch Supt Kevin Mulligan said: “There is obviously speculation about why this young man was killed, but at this stage it would be wrong to rule anything out or comment on that speculation while the investigation is in its infancy.”
However, Times of India (who else!!!) point out…
The police have not ruled out racism as a motive for the killing.
By the time the investigation is completed and it is learnt otherwise, it does not matter… Public opinion is already influenced. Do a poll today and it will turn out that majority of the readers will assume that it is a hate-crime… This is the power of the media.
We will wait for the facts to emerge and what if it was a hate-crime indeed! Even if so, it doesn’t make all British as racist and this will not mean that every student going to UK to study will face the same conclusion…
I speak so with a feeling of déjà vu indeed. The Nitin Garg episode in Melbourne (two years ago) and the various media twists in 2009 to the various episodes of “mugging” instances in Victoria in Australia of that period should be studied closely by the British authorities when they address the repercussion. However there is one thing that is different… Indian TV is currently preoccupied with the Lokpal issue and Anna fast and then with the upcoming state-elections to play up the issue. Unlike in 2009 when they needed a story to feed the 24×7 TV machinery.
I am not suggesting that non-University degrees should not have got PSW benefits. I have always asked for Australia sticking to the AQF for all provisions. My concern stems from what I blogged in my last despatch. Australia “craftily” changed the Knight recommendation on PSW and is possibly asking even Masters students to have studied “in Australia” for a “minimum of two academic years”. Now with the current exchange rate of Australian dollar, it is going to be such a huge task to put together funding for “top Universities” and for “2 years Masters”. Most Australian Masters are for 1 and 1.5 years and if PSW was offered to them “as was recommended”, it would have benefited all parties. I fear that now that non-Universities are also going to get PSW benefits, students will have no option but to prefer degrees run in the private sector as clearly the private sector has the cost advantage… I feel that this was never intended by Knight… Something is going wrong with the visa reforms. I would preferred that all offering degree and above to get PSW but would also want that “all Masters degree students irrespective of the duration” to get PSW benefits too… This would have been win-win for all.
SENATOR CHRIS EVANS
MINISTER FOR TERTIARY EDUCATION, SKILLS, JOBS AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS
CHRIS BOWEN MP
MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP
MEDIA RELEASE
30 November 2011
GOVERNMENT EXTENDS SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
The Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations, Senator Chris Evans, and the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Bowen MP, today announced more international students will be eligible for an extension of post-study work arrangements as part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to support the international education sector.
The Government recently announced post-study work arrangements for university graduates in response to the Knight Review of the Student Visa program.
“We are pleased to be extending post-study work arrangements to Bachelor or higher degree graduates from other education providers accredited to offer degree level programs, in addition to university graduates,” Mr Bowen said.
“Graduates who complete their degrees after at least two academic years’ study in Australia will be able to access post-study work arrangements from 2013, in time for students who are applying for their Student Visas now.”
Currently, more than 80 per cent of international students enrolled at the Bachelor degree level or above are eligible for the existing temporary skilled graduate visa, which provides an 18-month stay in Australia with work rights.
“These changes bring Australia into line with arrangements in other countries and enable education providers to offer a more competitive package to international students who are seeking good quality and long-term study in Australia, regardless of their field of interest,” Senator Evans said.
“The new arrangements extend the stay period to two years, while Masters by research or PhD students will be eligible for stays of three and four years respectively, reflecting the importance of the role of research in fostering innovation in the Australian economy.”
For students who obtain qualifications other than a Bachelor degree or above, the existing temporary skilled graduate visa, which provides for a stay of 18 months for those with qualifications in eligible fields of study, will still be available.
Information on the Knight Review can be found at: www.immi.gov.au/students/knight/
Mike Knight recommendations did open up an opportunity. However, I feel that someone is cleverly pulling out its punch and moving it towards: Much ado about nothing. I have already summarized the huge achievement as that it has changed the mood of the market from gross-pessimism to optimism. I also indicated that the biggest two gains have been the introduction of slightly lower financial requirements and introduction of Post Study Work.
Before I list my reasons for terming the implementation as “crafty”, let me first lay out the opportunity that OZ has.
Solely thanks to the Mike Knight recommendations and its apparent advantages to the students, the student market had turned to an upwards preference for Australia as a destination.
Setting aside the so-called expert opinions, we conducted a random survey of 100 students from Eastern India (between September and mid-November) to gauge the mood on the ground. The survey was aimed at determining the “first choice destination” as expressed by the “fee paying student”. I would like to point out that these 100 students expressed their opinion prior-to them being counseled and hence the survey does-not indicate whether they will be joining their first choice destination at all. However, it is a major analysis of the impact of the situation on the ground and deserves your attention.
The above clearly indicates that in this September – November period in 2011, the first-choice destination amongst the fee-paying students is still UK ahead of other competitive options. However, what is real-development is that there is a clear “drastic” decline in interest for UK in 2011 as compared to 2010 and if we compare it to other destinations, we can notice that in recent months, there is an increase in interest for Australia possibly due to the Post Study Work introduction there recently. There is also an increase in interest for Singapore while NZ and Canada which grew rapidly last year seem to be plateauing out now.
Now let me share why I feel that the implementation of the Knight Recommendations is happening but not-necessarily as was intended.
First I remind as to what Michael Knight recommended for Post Study Work…
4.1 All graduates of an Australian university Bachelor degree, who have spent at least two academic years studying that degree in Australia, and complied with their visa conditions, should receive two years work rights.
4.2 All graduates of an Australian university Masters by Coursework degree, who have studied that degree in Australia, and complied with their visa conditions, should receive two years work rights on successful completion of their course.
The FAQ too issued by immigration on PSW at the first instance simply provided a cut-paste of the above and hence implying that students who complete a Masters (by coursework) of any duration to be eligible for PSW. Under 4.1 Knight did recommend a minimum duration for Bachelors degree as 2 years but his entire purpose of listing the Masters provision under 4.2 is possibly that he has attempted to differentiate for Masters and not recommend a minimum 2 year requirement. Atleast, this is my reading. Read the above again for yourself.
Now, lets see what has just been put out on the immigration link detailing the implementation. The link is http://www.immi.gov.au/students/issues-impact-student-visas.htm
2013
Proposed implementation of recommendations arising from the Knight review.
Post-study work rights (Recommendations 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 and 8):
Bachelor (and Masters by Coursework) graduates who have spent at least two academic years studying that degree in Australia to receive two years post-study work rights
Masters by Research graduates to receive three years post-study work rights
PhD graduates to receive four years post-study work rights.
Do you notice the craftiness that takes away the real bite. UK has had Post Study Work after a Masters which in most cases was a one year qualification. Historically the Masters in Australia was between 1 and 1.5 years and was only made a 2 year program due to immigration point system that gave the points for Australian study only if one had studied for 2 years. If the Mike Knight recommendations 4.2 is implemented as has been mentioned in the Mike Knight Report, it would have meant a big-deal and a life-saver. However, that is not to be so… Immigration in its site is clubbing 4.1 and 4.2 together and indicating that Bachelors and Masters (Coursework) need to be of 2 year duration.
Well, I feel that someone does-not like the Mike Knight recommendations and is twisting them to derail the full reforms or its potential advantages. Hope that someone will bring this to the attention of those who drafted the recommendation.
BRITAIN FIRST:
Education agents are essential to the international education industry, despite the controversy that surrounds them. This is the latest positive indictment of agencies from UK cultural mission (and global language teaching operation), the British Council. In its recent paper, it also notes that the debate over the ethics of their use is becoming “detached” from the reality seen by students on the ground.
(This is sourced from the article by Dan Thomas, The PIE’s roving report. His article is on this link.)
The comments are part of the Why Students Use Agents – Demand and Supply report, which surveyed 131,000 international students between 2007 and 2010 about their views on agents.
Released this month, the report airs positive and negative views gleaned from student interviews and questionnaires, but says in its conclusions, “A knowledge and information gap exists between prospective students – and importantly their fee-paying parents – and the process of overseas study… While this gap exists, education agents will be there to fill it.”
The comments will hearten agents, particularly in the US where college admissions officers are deeply divided over their use. Earlier this year, the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) considered barring its members from using commission-based recruiters abroad, although it has since called for a two-year moratorium on the issue while a NACAC-appointed commission further considers the role that education agencies play in the industry.
“No matter the controversy, the fact that education agents have become a global industry is undeniable,” said Elizabeth Shepherd, Research Manager at the British Council’s Education Intelligence unit. “We must step away from the debate and understand how differently prospective students and their parents view agents, depending on where in the world they live.”
Overall, Why Students Use Agents offers an invaluable snapshot of the fragmented agent industry worldwide. East Asian students were found to be most likely to use an agent with 48% saying they had contacted or planned to contact an agent in the past, followed by African students (41%), South Asian (39%) and Latin American (30%).
Students from Europe, Latin America and China were said to use agents primarily for information on foreign institutions, while in India and Africa advice on obtaining a visa was most important. The report also identified a growing need across the group for help with visas and applications, reflecting the tightening of immigration policies in the UK, US and Australia over the past few years.
NOW TO THE WELL PUBLICISED AUSTRALIAN KNIGHT REPORT:
Some excerpts from the report… (Full report on http://www.immi.gov.au/students/knight/ )
While Agents are indeed critical and here to stay, we need to move away from the debate on whether agents are required. The experts who have been arguing for a ban on use of agents need to study the British Council and Australia’s Knight reports carefully. The strategy should be more towards…
He flew into Sri Lanka when it had no airport or immigration authority, and moved a whole mountain to complete a fig of a task. And so… it is not unnatural that those seeking visas take his blessings… after all…
So for Lord Hanuman it is no challenge to organize visas for his devotees, which for frequent-flying mortals is a forbidding procedure complicated by the monkey business of agents and mystifying forms.
This is how an article in DNA introduced me to the KHADIA TEMPLE in Ahmedabad, Gujarat and the newspaper also informs that it has had a 100% success record (!!!). The article further enlightens…
The devout who throng the shrine swear that their deity guarantees 100% visa approval for any foreign country.
And they are especially grateful because no processing or consultancy fee is charged. ‘Visa Hanuman’ attends to the needs of dozens of visa aspirants every day.
But his counseling sessions are packed on Saturdays, with nearly 750 people filing their appeals for his consideration.
However, the most “interesting” (!) temple turns out to be where all the High Commissions and the Embassies are located. Right in Delhi.
This temple too is of the Visa God – Hanuman and well, you just need to “check out” the “counselor” at the Temple to decide (I am talking of the “unusual” priestess) and also hear her out in the video on this link…
A friend of mine who is an Immigration expert was asked whether he can guarantee the visa and in his humorous response he simply shared the photo below with the student.
When I was shared the picture, I decided to do some research on the temple and then came across the video. You do need to see it before your read on…
If West(Gujarat) and North India(Delhi) can boast of their own temples, how can Hyderabad be left out. They actually can take the honors in this blog of having the temple that has been most popular of the all three. Times of India informed…
When President Bush went to Hyderabad to inaugurate a new US consulate I wonder if someone told him the story of Andhra Pradesh’s American visa temple.
In the past few years a Balaji temple in Chilkur village outside Hyderabad has become the pilgrimage destination for US visa-seekers. It has acquired a reputation among the dollar-driven, that the deity here is particularly powerful in granting an American visa.
Typically, an aspiring American visa-seeker visits the temple a few days before his visa interview at the US consulate. During the visit, the devotee goes through the usual rituals of prayer, including three circumambulations of the inner shrine, and makes a vow.
Then, they go off with their documents and dreams to convince the US consulate officer that they are worthy of receiving the visa. If they get their visa, they return to the temple, and fulfil their vow, which is to walk 108 times around the temple.
Before I end the blog, I have just been alerted that there is a fourth visa temple in Chennai… A blogger writes on her blog about the Chennai Visa temple on her blog…
The temple town of Thirumazhisai is about 25 km from Chennai. It is situated on the Tiruvallur High Road and just one Km away from Chennai Bangalore trunk road. There is an Perumal temple. Those who want visa to go abroad can visit and pray for their wishes.
I know that some of my colleagues in my trade must be considering targeted marketing around these temples… Happy thought indeed!!! One more nagging question: If these are the temples, that priestess is the counsellor then, are the entry-clearance-officers(Visa Officers) the new demigods!!!
demigod |ˈdemēˌgäd|noun ( fem. demigoddess |ˈdemēˌgädis| )
a being with partial or lesser divine status, such as a minor deity, the offspring of a god and a mortal, or a mortal raised to divine rank.• a person who is greatly admired or feared.ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: translating Latin semideus .
With the above definition from the dictionary, some will indeed believe so…
I have written on it earlier and am now seeing many comment on the same lines… A write up in Guardian shouted WE MUST TACKLE VISA ABUSE, BUT NOT AT THE COST OF GENUINE STUDENTS… It elaborates that “Tough talk on immigration will frighten away the talent our colleges need.” (See LINK)
UKBA and the various spokespeople have learnt the use of negative vocabulary to such an extent that it become difficult to imagine anything positive in UK being an attractive destination for International Students. Yes, when they summarize with delight that their clampdown and measures are “beginning to bite” and when they claim that there has been a “wide spread” abuse of student visas, you begin to notice that they are not really complaining or pointing a finger to the abuse as such but actually scoring a political point through all this that the system in place by the previous regime was leaky… Let me make it clear… An International Student, An education agent and An institution recruiting students are all legit in making use of the available options and liberties. The job of making the policy is not theirs and if they have made use of the options then they should not be held responsible at all…
Coming back to the topic… I agree with the writer that…
International students are much sought after across the world. They bring valuable cultural, diplomatic and economic benefit with them. They contribute £5bn to UK earnings each year, making a huge difference to local economies. The students come to the country and then leave, without recourse to public funds. Of those who stay, many end up teaching and carrying out world-leading research. In a deeply competitive and global market, inter–national staff make up a large proportion of university staff, without whom many departments would not be viable, or at best would be significantly weakened.
The above advantages are more of an immediate term benefits that international students bring. I would like to add that the long term benefits are far reaching too. There are political and diplomatic advantages that international students deliver. I noticed that one of the reasons why “two years ago”, UK received less negative press in India when it was facing the same issues as that in Australia over college closures, why the unhappy student stories reached Indian media coverage to lesser intensity and why the Indian political class did not focus on the UK issue to the same level as they did with the Ozzies… is the fact that most of the players controlling Indian media, Indian polity and also Indian academia were all possessing some British education themselves. If you noticed the NEWSHOUR debates in those times, you could hear the British Educated commentators and image-builders talk in quite nasty terms on Australian history and made it look so inferior to the British strengths in education. I want to also state that whenever I interact with the Head-Master of a leading Indian School who is a thorough Brit himself, I find a clear disdain for any introduction of Australia to his school. I felt offended when he told me offhand that the students from India will face “racial bias” in Australia. I just did not expect it from him as he should have clearly seen the hype that was built up in a purposive manner by certain players at that time. And if he did notice the inaccuracies, he as the senior most in a school with responsibility of using “Knowledge as Light” should have corrected the mis-perception in the student mind-space…
Returning to the topic, I do think that the damage that the UK policies are inflicting is far worse. It is gradually building the word in the country that “Indian students are NOT WELCOME” in UK anymore and this message is due to the direction that the Government of the country has taken. How sad indeed… I referred this as “colonizers being fearful of reverse colonization” in an earlier blog and I would maintain that this “fear” too is such a negative word and destined to bring in more fear. Let the unemployment begin at the Universities once the number of International students come down… God Bless the country…
Before I close, I want to share the quality of perspectives that often comments to write-ups bring to the table… The quoted article had a comment by a reader:
The abuse of so-called “student” visas has been an open scandal for years. Hundreds of thousands of people with negligible skills and no intention of studying got in this way. Hundreds of bogus “colleges” flourished.
During all this time, reputable universities sat back and did nothing about it, as though it did not concern them. Well, they are now reaping the bitter fruit of their poisonous indifference. If you have no morals and turn a blind eye to scams, don’t be surprised if when the crackdown comes everyone things you are as bad, or almost as bad, as the scamsters themselves.
As to your point about genuine foreign students, you say:
“International students are much sought after across the world. They bring valuable cultural, diplomatic and economic benefit with them.”
I agree with this up to a point. But many postgrad science and engineering courses in the UK are now 100% Chinese. Is that really what we want? To be a knowledge giveaway for our industrial competitors? What about educating our own slightly-less-talented youth? Surely the national payback from that is many times higher than the once-off fees from the foreign students ?
And this is how another reader rebutted the above comment:
Another unthinking example of our current Government’s habit of ruling by gimmick without the wit to think through the consequences.
By carelessly making all foreign students feel unwelcome they risk a substantial loss of much needed national income. They risk the closure of many university departments who remain financially viable only through the high fee income from foreign students, and, although hard to quantify, they will diminish our global influence through the ‘soft power’ accruing from this sector.
As usual, they formulate and express policy not because it is in the interests of this country, but in order to appeal to the prejudices of the ill-informed (as illustrated already by some of the comments above).
“But many postgrad science and engineering courses in the UK are now 100% Chinese. Is that really what we want ?”
Hardly 100% I am sure – but it’s a sure bet that British students in these departments would be denied the opportunity of they weren’t kept viable by the foreign intake.
At least the Chinese Government have the wit to seek the very best education for their brightest – unlike ours. The high proportion of Chinese post-grads in many places is simply due to the fact that the necessary finance is available to them – unlike our own students for whom the provision of grants is woefully and short-sighted inadequate.
Don’t you agree that the comments to an article or even a blog are so useful in completing the story… This is where the internet is scoring over the print…
On 5th February I had done a blog aghast at the Kingfisher advertising with the tagline FORGET THE UGLY AUSSIE… Though that advert was pulled out later on complaints against the under-the-belt campaign against their competitor who appeared to Indians as the AUSSIE brand, it did its bit in damaging to the Australian Education image in India. However, what I am going to share here is how KARMA comes to play…
The advert that I referred to in the earlier blog titled MR MALLYA, PLEASE DONOT MAKE ME AND OTHER INDIANS APPEAR UGLY! was:
Now let me elaborate the KARMA that I see… I am not talking of the losses that Kingfisher and Mallya are suffering in their airlines business at all… I am simply talking of the fact that possibly KINGFISHER has to now EAT THEIR OWN WORDS…
On my recent visit to Australia on the invitation of UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA, I was in an Indian restaurant with a friend from Indian Army who was in Australia to train… My “fauji” friend of-course enjoys his hard drinks but seeing a teetotaler giving him company, simply opted for the “Indian KINGFISHER Beer” being a “proud Indian”. This is when I managed to hold on to the bottle and turn it around to find that…
This couldn’t be true… The brand that claimed to be a PROUD INDIAN and had asked Indians to FORGET THE UGLY AUSSIE in the light of the media-hyped attack on Indian students was being now BREWED IN AUSTRALIA and that too in the state of VICTORIA.
SHOULD THE AUSSIE COMPETITORS now release adverts in Australia asking Australians to FORGET THE UGLY INDIAN?
This is KARMA indeed… HOWEVER, Australia seems to be practicing what Gandhi advised: AN EYE FOR EYE WILL MAKE THE WORLD GO BLIND!
Mr Mallya, Check Mate!
The world thought that Australia was making the visas easier with the forthcoming visa changes. However, now they should be a little unsure… The celebrations were indeed premature. DIAC is the real winner as it cleverly envelopes the real power hidden amongst the visa changes. The DIAC update from the office of the Assistant Secretary details the Implementation of stage one of the changes is proposed for 5 November 2011, including:
- introduction of a new “genuine temporary entrant” criterion for all student visa applicants;
- a reduction in the financial requirements for certain visa applicants;
- removal of the English language test requirements for stand alone Assessment Level 4 and above English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) visa applicants;
- increasing the visa period of all new Postgraduate Research (subclass 574) visa grants by six months to allow for interactive marking of a thesis;
- amendments to student visa policy regarding prepaid homestay fees arranged through education providers; and
- cessation of the student visa pre-visa assessment (PVA) arrangements.
More information on the changes is available from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s website at: www.immi.gov.au/students/knight/
I have been waiting for the details on GTE (Genuine Temporary Entrant) criteria which I have thought of and have commented as the “hidden ammunition”. The details are now more detailed on the link. This is exactly where the DIAC has played its cards adeptly.
Some say it was a much needed ammunition in their hand as it removes the objectivity around the visas and injects some extreme subjectivity. Some may also feel that it is offering some flexibilities to the visa officers as they can now be a little lenient with the so-called “genuine” students.
While I have argued for some subjectivity and flexibility myself, I feel that that the GTE criterion is one such encompassing criterion that once we have that, we just do not need any other requirements for the visa. It has detailed every kind of situation under this and I really wonder why we need the AL system of any fund requirement at all from now on itself.
With GTE, the visa officers are now even more powerful (were they not already!). Let me not say anymore on this… Just read the attachment on the link after reading this blog and the various case studies and situations mentioned will indicate that one bad interview can “make or break” an application. Also the visa decision of the other countries will now have a bearing on the visa application to OZ.
I do wonder why many felt that Knight recommendations were going to make the visas very simple. The only and only way that it has, is by reducing the funds to be shown by six months for AL3 applicants from India but that has been balanced off by the increase in the forex conversion for Indian students to Rs 46 from Rs 41 per dollar.
Further, the abolishing of PVA will make the process “appear” to be time-efficient between the time visa is lodged and is decided. However, this is just a “superficial efficiency”. I say so since the time of visa processing will now begin a few weeks before the actual lodgment, even though it will now show up as lessening of DIAC processing times. It should be calculated from when the student pays to the institution and applies for the eCOE, if the PVA stands abolished. Further, the abolishing of the PVA will mean that there are now other “disadvantages” caused to the Universities, Agents and also the Students. Let me elaborate my fears. If the visa is granted, it is all great. However going by the visa refusal rate in India of 50% (or more) (for established education agents it will be much less but overall the visa refusal rate is indeed 50% or about), the workload will now be huge at the end of institutions who will now have to create more number of eCOEs and there will be additional workload and inconveniences when the visas are refused for an applicant as refunds will now have to be organized. The student also loses out financially when the visa is refused since the refunds that are received will be converted back into local currency by the banks at the lower buying rates while the student converted the local currency to dollars at the higher selling rates of the banks. The agent will also have the “unpaid bother” in such cases. I really wonder why the so called experts amongst the institutions are not reading this superficial change that actually disadvantages all.
I maintain that the biggest gain of the Knight Review is the introduction of POST STUDY WORK for graduating degree students who will be able to work and gain experience for a period of time irrespective of the specialization of the degrees and irrespective of whether the degrees are in areas on SOL.
The GTE details however still gives me some fright… If applied a little irresponsibly, it can really ruin a good student’s prospects. I say so since it will be foolish to expect that there will be just no errors on part of visa officers especially because we know that across the world visa officers have committed errors and generalizations.
In the “real world”, a student who tells the interviewer that they intend to work for a few years in Australia post their studies may actually fail the GTE. Even though, PSW can be marketed by Universities now… I am sure that a student will feel drawn into saying that they will return to their home country after their degrees even when they have been attracted by the PSW and even when the Universities will market the PSW options. Will DIAC grant a visa to a student who says that he will do the Masters and then take up “guaranteed” PSW and then explores the state sponsorship that several states are promoting or other PR options even though they have the option of returning to India and work in India? (Yes, ACT Chief Minister’s office recently told me that they will happily sponsor a student who has worked in ACT for six months after having studied in ACT)
I also feel that the “genuine-ness” is too much a subject of “interpretation”. My real hope will be that the DIAC will release a guideline on what it deems as a “positive profile applicant”. Immigration NZ has such a document that it shares with education agents. Students who belong to positive profile are fast-tracked or streamlined and those who are not are still processed but a little closely. Once again NZ may give out some tips… to Aussies. After all, they won the Rugby World Cup.
