Indian student inflow to Oz may ebb

In its latest prediction, Tourism Australia has said the recent spate of attacks on students will result in 4,000 fewer Indians coming to Australia, to study here next year. “The downturn is expected in response to concerns that the Indian community have had about safety,” Head of Tourism Australia’s forecasting committee Bernard Salt said.

As the slide in the inflow of Indian students comes about, Australia could lose over $70 million in revenue, the study said. “What we are saying is that based on consideration of visa applications, there is 20 per cent fall in the incoming number of Indians students in 2010,” Salt said, adding that it was hard to say whether the drop could be a “knee-jerk, one-year reaction”. Gautam Gupta, president of the Federation of Indian Students in Australia, however, said the slump would not be as severe as predicted earlier after a spate of attacks on students of Indian origin till June this year.

“Our fears were that the slide could touch as high as 50 per cent. But it is going to be only 21 per cent,” he said.Australia’s education industry has in recent years witnessed an unprecedented boom with the value touching as high as $15.4 billion a year.
Students from India make up for 19 per cent of those enrolling in Australian universities.