BANGALORE: Two years after incidents of curry bashing grabbed global headlines, Australia has now finally won back the position of being the hottest and cheapest higher education spot. With many Bangalore students looking at Australia as a hot spot for various courses, the demand for counsellors has also shot up in the city dramatically.
The Australia High Commission in their recent report said applications by Indian students in Australian universities has shot up by 30 per cent. Stressing on how Australia has ensured safety of the students and is very serious about it, the Commission has said that patrolling has increased and there is more police presence.
“This year, UK has stricter rules for selection of Indian students in their universities. The cost of studying in any university in UK remains high as always. Getting a study visa for USA is difficult too. This was why people chose to study in Australia. Now with the issue of curry bashing cooling down, people are considering studying down under,” said a higher studies counselor Shakeel R.
Meanwhile, many parents are now open to the idea of letting their wards take up short courses in Australian universities too. “A closer look at these instances show that most of these cases were very subjective. That shouldn’t be a basis to generalise a whole community,” said Nargis Khan, parent of a student who has applied for two courses in Australia this year.
The new visa rules too have got many interested in studying in Australia. “As per the new visa rule, students are allowed to stay for two to four years after completing their degree and work. This has attracted a lot of students, who otherwise wouldn’t have considered studying there, without a loan or a scholarship,” said an MBA counselor Garima Karam.
Academicians further assert that the range of scholarships that are available for international students have increased. “There are tuition scholarships for accommodation and an overall one that covers both fees and living cost,” said a student counsellor, Sirju Das.