Use unique ID of international students for a just cause (Letter to Editor: Canberra Times)

As an Indian student in Australia, I welcome the Baird recommendations to revamp the international education system in Australia. The most important suggestion is to give a unique identifier number to every international student coming to this country. The primary intention is seems to protect students from scrupulous agents by tracking their movements between institutions. This ID could also be used to a greater cause which will ensure more transparency, credibility and justice to Australian education sector.

Australian government awards 5 points towards Australian permanent residency (PR) for 2 or more years of study in Australia. Those 5 points are so critical that an average students who does a course in skills demand list (MODL, CSL, etc) will be eligible for PR, if they get those last 5 points. That's their last mile. Many students choose those courses (which are in skills demand list) for 2 or more years with the intention of applying for PR after their studies. This is good for Australia too, for Australia gets right skills trained in Australia itself.

In order to make this arrangement more transparent and just, Australia could link the proposed unique ID for international students with the skills demand list of the time students get admission to Australian educational institutions. This will be consistent with the practise of linking 5 points towards PR for 2 years of study in Australia at the very first time they join courses in Australia.

If we do not do this, we will be allowing the system to "change the goal posts" for international students during their 2 years of study in Australia. No one would argue that Australia has a right to change the skills demand list as the demand changes in the society. At the same time, we do have an obligation to protect the interests of international students who come here to study and fill in the needs of Australia, as we advertise. Linking the unique ID for international students with that of the demand list of the time students get admission to Australian educational institutions will be the best way to implement it. This will ensure credibility and reinstate confidence in "Australia brand" in international circles.


Fr Jaison Mulerikkal CMI
47 Lowe st
Queanbeyan, 2620
Mob: 0433893593

jmulerik@cs.anu.edu.au

Attacks on Indians have had a profound effect on Australia's image

This was reported in THE AGE. Good on them. http://bit.ly/w1FGC

It is the Australian media (and Police) who are primarily responsible for this situation. Here is my response to one of the comments to this article.

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@ Kevin of Melb who commented: "Some balance needs to be bought into this one-way view. May I suggest that we start showing, on our tv channels, the assults on Australians and other foreigners that occur in Indian on any given day."

Yes, I think there's a need for balance. Let the Australian media pick up the cause of racial bashing of Indians in Australia. As an Indian I am very much sure that Australian media underreport any violence on Indians in Aus. There seems to be strong bias - to cover up things from the Aus media - to the benefit of white Australians. This is condemnable, if not racial! (Having said that, The Age and Fairfax media are bit of an exception here. This very article is a sign of that, But the rest are hopeless and divisive).

Austalian Government should honor their promises!

This is the comment I sent to "The Australian" about their article "Education debacle to cost us badly" . As usual, I do not know whether it will get published! But here it is in my blog:

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What International students going through (in Australia) is really horrible. First they were shown Permanent Residency carrot when abroad. It was Australian govt that linked certain courses to PR points, not migration agents. Students are lured into join those programs by paying huge fees and there by assuring huge tax revenue to Australian govt. When they came here, they got substandard education and was beaten up in the streets. Then they protested. Now, the govt is going to de-link PR points from those courses. Students spent 40000 AUD over two years, they got no quality education and now no PR. It's going to be state supported cheating scam. There should be a policy whereby Aust govt honor their liking of PR points to certain courses for the whole tenure of those courses. I mean, if there is a link between a course and PR points when a student join a course, it should stay there for that student till he/she finishes the course. Otherwise, it is cheating and rip off. What we will be doing is to lure international students to certain courses by showing PR carrot and when they pass the course, revoke it and send them back home with nothing. Otherwise govt shouldn't link any course with PR points at all.

The Pragmatic (and the real) Aussie view abt Australian Education Industry - It's Brain Gain!

Another post from the same forum gives us a real pragmatic Australian view abt Australian education industry. This is why Australia still welcome international students!

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OpEd:

27 Jul 2009 11:04:30am

For those who are critical of the international education industry that Australia has developed, I ask, how will we replace the $15 billion in foreign earnings, and the 10s of thousands of jobs that have been created?

The issue is not that Australia provides education services that are in demand from international students, but that there are so many, largely private colleges that have sprung up offering doggy certificates, and linked in with migration scams.

This is where the cleanup needs to take place.

With regard to gradauates applying for their residency in Australia, my feeling is if these people have the right kinds of skills and meet all the criteria for migration, then they should be able to apply for migration to Australia. What Australia ends up with is young people in the prime of their working life, with an Australian education, all at no expense to the Australia tax payer.

I think we need to be careful that we don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.