More Indian students heading for Oz as UK loses its charm

SYDNEY: The latest International Student Data released by the Australian Trade Commission has shown that 13,730 Indian students enrolled in an Australian college in 2014 - an increase from 10,168 in 2013.

The numbers in 2014 made Indian students the third largest group of international student enrollments in New South Wales.

A decade earlier, Indian students were the fourth largest group. In 2012, the number of Indian students who enrolled in an Australian university was 11,239. The increase of nearly 3,562 students in just one year could be due to the dip in the numbers visiting Britain. Controversy over post work visa in Britain has seen a major dip in the number of Indian students visiting UK.

Data revealed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) shows that the number of Indian students fell from 18,535 in 2010-11 to 13,250 in 2011-12 and further to 10,235 in 2012-13.

A recent study of the attitudes of 3,100 international students by the National Union of Students revealed that almost 50% feel the UK Government was either "not welcoming" or "not welcoming at all towards overseas students". Almost 63% of Indian students doing their PhD in UK felt unwanted. As a result there has been fall in number of Indian students.

According to the data from the Australian Trade Commission, in 2014, 52% of Indian students (7,200) studied management and commerce. In 2010, about 48% of Indian students studied management and commerce. Increasingly, Indian students are choosing to enroll in courses in the higher education sector.

In 2010, 70% of Indian students were enrolled in Vocational Education and Training (VET) and 27% in higher education while in 2014, 33% of Indian students were enrolled in VET and 51% of Indian students were enrolled in higher education.

In 2014, international students contributed $16.6 billion to the Australian economy. They contributed $5.8 billion to the New South Wales economy.

Lyn Lewis Smith, CEO of Business Events Sydney, told TOI, "India has a very strong education system. Some of these brightest minds are coming to Australia for higher education. And yet, we haven't even touched the surface as far as attracting Indian students is concerned. It is beneficial as we would like to retain and attract global talent aged 25-35 years. When these students go back to India, they become Australia's ambassadors and return to revisit the cultural and social ties they established during their college years here and hence is good for tourism."

"New South Wales has 11 high quality universities and we are aware that we are getting the best Indian students for our masters and post graduate programme. We are involving the industry to help develop our syllabus which helps in these students getting jobs in Australia as soon as they finish studies. India is a priority for Australia and New South Wales in particular," she added.

Total International Student Enrolments in NSW from 2010-14:

Year No of Enrolments

2012 192,909

2013 196,276

2014 219,539

Indian Student Enrolments in NSW from 2010-14:

Year No of Enrolments

2012 11,239

2013 10,168

2014 13,730

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