How to rip off students
PARENTS BEWARE! Another one of those 'fake' or 'bogus' agencies… and also again involving Australia? ---------- TV show exposes exploitation of Indian students MELBOURNE - Australia yesterday vowed to crack down on migration scams targeting Indian students and condemned a "cowardly" attack on a female reporter who blew the lid on the shady practices. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Australia was tightening regulations on migration agents after a television current affairs show exposed rip-offs exploiting students who have fuelled the country's booming international education sector. The revelations are the latest to damage the US$12.7 billion ($18.3 billion) a year industry - Australia's third-largest export earner - after a series of violent attacks on Indian students living in Melbourne and Sydney. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard slammed the attack on the female Indian journalist, who was physically assaulted in a Sydney street over the weekend while working undercover for the ABC programme. "Any attack like that which has been reported is cowardly and completely abhorrent," Ms Gillard said. "The Australian government is absolutely committed to providing quality education for all students, and we have taken steps to improve the experience for overseas students," she added. The expose, screened on Monday, reported that some Indian families had been left broke after sending children to Australia for courses that failed to deliver any educational value. It said hundreds of private colleges offering courses such as hairdressing, cooking and accounting had sprung up that lured students with false promises of gaining permanent residency in Australia. The TV programme said migration agents told its undercover reporter she could pay between A$3,000 and A$5,000 ($3,590 and $5,980) for a fake English-language certificate needed to gain residency. "Australia's education exports face much deeper problems than safety issues. There's now a rising clamour over dodgy courses, student rip-offs and an education system that's turned into a visa factory," the report said. The Australian Council for Private Education and Training has said it plans to launch a register of education agents to help students find honest providers. Indian students protested in Melbourne and Sydney last month, following a series of attacks and muggings which strained diplomatic ties and prompted negative headlines in their home country. Some 95,000 Indians are studying in Australia following a publicity blitz targeting the huge country's growing middle class. AFP From TODAY, World – Wednesday, 29-Jul-2009
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