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India ’ s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese in May . Picture : Getty Images .
Study ban
Two more unis pause recruitment from India as PM signs new student visa deal
By Eleanor Campbell
Two additional Australian universities have banned the admission of Indian students in response to concerns over fraudulent visa applications .
Victoria ’ s Federation University and Western Sydney University ( WSU ) have halted recruitment from students from six Indian states , including Punjab , Haryana and Gujarat .
WSU said the ban will be in place from May to June 2023 and that recruitment from all other regions in India would continue as usual .
“ The decision follows a large number of Indian students who commenced study at the university during 2022 not remaining enrolled , resulting in a significantly high attrition rate ,” a spokesperson told Campus Review .
“ We are working closely with international agents to implement additional measures to strengthen the screening of international students .”
A total of five Australian universities have now reportedly banned or restricted students ’ applications from northern India over concerns around non-genuine visa applications .
During a recent federal parliamentary inquiry , the home affairs department said the rejection rate for applications from Indian students was at the highest since 2012 .
Last year , more than 80,000 Indian students were studying in Australia .
This number is expected to increase as both the Australian and Indian government ’ s move to strengthen bilateral partnerships over the next decade .
Last week , Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese announced a new migration deal aimed at boosting the number of Indian students travelling to Australia .
Mr Albanese said the deal would “ promote the mobility of students , graduates , academic researchers and business people ” and include provisions to “ prevent irregular migration and people smuggling .”
The 10-page agreement , to be finalised later this year , includes a pilot scheme to enable 3,000 graduates and early-career professionals in India to live in Australia for two years without sponsorship . ■
‘ No evidence ’
Key WA unis say no to mergers
By Tim Dodd
The West Australian government faces strong resistance to mergers from most of the state ’ s public universities , signalling a major battle ahead if a review now under way recommends joining one or more institutions .
Murdoch University vice-chancellor Andrew Deeks said his institution questioned whether a merger of any of the state ’ s universities would solve the problems that the review , led by former James Cook University vice-chancellor Sandra Harding , was examining .
The McGowan government announced the review in February , pointing to lagging performance by the state ’ s universities including lower growth in domestic students than other states , a poor record in attracting international students and a decline in the share of national research grants going to WA universities .
The government asked the review to consider options for structural change , including mergers , for the state ’ s four public higher education institutions : the University of Western Australia , Curtin University , Edith Cowan University and Murdoch .
In its submission to the review , Murdoch University says : “ While there are opportunities to improve the performance and sustainability of the WA public university sector , we are not aware of any evidence that structural change involving mergers would achieve this goal .”
Other universities have not released their review submissions but it is understood that Curtin University and Edith Cowan Universities are also firmly opposed to mergers . Only UWA is open to the possibility . Murdoch University told the review that ongoing discussion about mergers “ is unhelpful to the sector and works against our efforts to increase performance ”.
The university argues in its submission that structural changes are not the solution to the challenges facing universities in WA .
“ There is no evidence that any of ( the ) structural changes under consideration would grow the aggregated WA university revenue or reduce the administrative cost base ,” Murdoch University says in its submission . ■
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