Australian Universities Tighten Restrictions on Indian Students

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, recent reports state that Federation University in Victoria and Western Sydney University in New South Wales have communicated with education agents, instructing them to cease recruiting students from Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, as well as the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on fostering educational exchanges between Australia and India, recent developments have revealed a contrasting situation. The Federation University and Western Sydney University have signed an agreement to halt recruitment of students from certain parts of India.

 This decision comes at a time when the two countries have just entered into a migration and mobility partnership arrangement to facilitate the exchange of students, graduates, researchers, and business professionals.

The Federation University explained in a letter to agents that they have observed a significant rise in visa application rejections from certain regions in India by the Department of Home Affairs. Initially, it was hoped that this would be a temporary issue, but it has become evident that a persistent trend is emerging.

This action follows similar measures taken by other Australian universities, including Victoria University, Edith Cowan University, Torrens University, and Southern Cross University, which had implemented bans or restrictions on students from specific Indian states due to an upsurge in fraudulent applications aimed at seeking employment rather than pursuing studies in Australia.