More Indians eye Australian education
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Australia recently introduced a quality assurance strategy for institutions offering services to overseas students. This builds on the existing quality assurance arrangements and establishes a consistent and easily comprehensible system.
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A view of the University of Adelaide building
Going by the current figures, India represents the biggest growth sector in Australian international education scenario. In terms of growth rate, there was a 33.5 per cent increase in the number of Indian students entering Australia's famed international education system between 2004 and 2005.
China may have sent the largest number of students — ahead of India — to study in Australia, but the growth rate in 2004-05 was only 23.5 per cent.
The growth, points to not merely the increase in the number of enrolments but the faith Indian students have in the standards of Australia's universities and institutions of higher education.
Favoured destination
Talk to anyone who facilitates Indian students aspiring to study abroad. They say Australia is one of the most favoured destinations. And the reason is simple. Not only do Indians yearn for good education, but also look to migrate to that country. With several multinationals operating development and manufacturing facilities in Australia, Indians see a chance to migrate permanently.
In terms of students' preferences, Business Administration is the most favoured choice.
Figures speak for themselves: 649 Indian students enrolled for business administration courses in November 2002. The number grew to 1,040 in November 2003, to 1,536 in 2004 and the latest figure is 2,048. The second most preferred is the Computer Science stream. Figures in this discipline too has been showing a growth trend in the last three years.
Hospitality education leads among the services sector — one that has grown by over seven times in the past three years.
Students now have another reason to look towards Australia. The country had recently introduced a quality assurance strategy for institutions offering services to overseas students.
The strategy supports Australia's education industry, which is the country's fourth largest export and contributes $7.5 billion to the national economy. The assurance covers the delivery of education and training to over 400,000 international students pursuing Australian courses both onshore and overseas; and builds on the existing quality assurance arrangements and establishes a nationally consistent and easily comprehensible system.
Improved framework
The Federal and the State Governments have agreed to support an improved framework for Australia's National Code of Practice, which applies to providers delivering education services to international students and ensures the ongoing protection to them. .
They also approved a Transnational Quality Strategy framework that protects and promotes the quality of Australian education and training delivered in other countries.
The framework comprises a voluntary register of providers and their offshore courses and locations.
The register will adopt existing onshore standards for measuring quality and will be available to students, their parents and Governments.
In a joint statement, the Federation and State ministers for Education had in November 2005 announced their commitment to delivering world class education and training. "We are committed to upholding the quality of Australia's international education, both within Australia and around the world. International education builds valuable international linkages and exchange in all fields of study, and broadens the opportunities and experiences available to our students. It also makes a significant contribution to Australia's ability to attract qualified and skilled people to participate in our society and economy," their statement noted.
Guidance for aspirants
IDP Australia, a not-for-profit organisation owned by 38 universities in Australia is the one-point stop for students looking for information.
IDP provides information on over 1,000 institutions, including universities, vocational education and training institutes, English language colleges and schools. It helps international students enrol in Australian educational institutions. IDP's free student services include:
Student counselling; Application processing, including an online application service (IDP Global Apply Online);
Visa application processing; Student publications and websites in various languages; Australian education exhibitions and promotions; and Fellowships and scholarships administration. (Indian students can look up at the website: www.idp.com/India)
There are also other consultants such as Edwise who have been in the business for 15 years providing services to students and assisting them with information on education loans, admission formalities, foreign exchange, ticketing and visa guidance, etc.
Edwise is an accredited member of AAERI (Association of Australian Education Representatives in India).
The others in the same services include Planet Education, which specialises in Australian education, Delinger Consultants, Chopra Consultants and Education Overseas Academy.
K. RAMACHANDRAN
India - Australia
