Melbourne, August 10
External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has said some ‘dubious’ educational institutions in Australia were ruining the lives of young Indians and asked Canberra to come out with new regulations to cover private colleges to undo the damage.
He also said ‘physical attacks’ on Indian students in Australia and the poor quality of courses and services offered in many vocational colleges were of concern to India.
“I think they (vocational colleges) are not only bringing a bad name to Australia but they are destroying the future of the younger generation of Indian students,” Krishna, who is
here on a visit, told ‘The Australian’ newspaper.
He also called for new regulations to cover private colleges and continued reform by the federal and state governments.
However, Krishna also praised Canberra and state governments for responding to India's concerns. He said the damage to Australia's reputation in India need not be long term.
“The Australian and (state) governments have quickly moved in and started undoing the damage by a series of measures taken to dispel any notions of insecurity felt by the Indian student community,” he said.
“I would want the tempo to be maintained so that signals are constantly flowing to India, so that governments are constantly responding to meet our concerns,” Krishna, who met Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his counterpart Stephen Smith during his visit, said.
“Some dubious educational institutions have lured gullible Indian students into joining some of these institutions. There is a big gap between the quality of what has been promised and what has been delivered,” Krishna added.
“Some colleges have closed down but the fees had been collected from these students and they are left high and dry. So they are wandering around the streets of Sydney and Melbourne and they are a cause of consternation for India,” he said.
Asked whether India and Australia are working to formalise a security co-operation framework during Rudd's visit to New Delhi this year, Krishna said he can neither confirm nor deny.
— PTI
