More Indian students expected to come to Australia next year: Ambassador Philip Green

The High Commissioner said it is wrong to say that there has been an increase in the number of visa rejections of Indian students by Australian universities as recently reported by some media, and that they are reconsidering their higher education plans.

He emphasized the fact that the statistics have been self-observed, and underlined that 'this year they are the same as last year' and 'there has been no increase in student rejections.'

'There has been no increase in student rejections. I have seen these figures myself and they are the same as last year. Unlike some other countries, Australia does not impose any limits on the number of foreign students coming to our country. Yes, we want to ensure that students coming from prestigious institutions will have a good experience in Australia,' said Envoy Green during an interview with ANI.

'We apologize for the fact that we want good students and we want to make sure they are paired with the right courses. It is absolutely wrong to say that rejections have increased; “We look forward to as many or perhaps even more Indian students coming to Australia next year,” he said.

Appreciating the cooperation between India and Australia in the field of education and skill development, the High Commissioner appreciated the opening of the overseas branch of an Australian university in India, which is the first time that a foreign university has opened its campus in India.

The country's Deakin University earlier inaugurated its branch campus in GIFT City, Gujarat.

'A large number of Indians choose to come to Australia as part of their education, and we generally work on this, and there will be more of this. But frankly, if this country is to fulfill its growth potential, we will need more skills. And that's why we join the Government of India in saying that this should not be a one-way street,” said Ambassador Green.

'Australian education should be more available here in India so Indians can fulfill their potential. 'So I am happy that the first two overseas branch campuses in the world that have come to India have come from Australian universities, and they will not be the last,' he said.

The move was taken to strengthen educational ties between the two countries and provide Indian students access to world-class Australian education. Through the new education policy brought in 2020, India has opened the doors for foreign educational institutions to set up brick-and-mortar infrastructure.

Notably, in January this year, Ian Martin, Vice-Chancellor of Australia's Deakin University, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar, where they had fruitful discussions on enhancing cooperation between the government and educational institutions regarding cyber security. In a post on X, the Prime Minister welcomed Deakin University to collaborate with Indian universities to promote research and innovation.

In November last year, Union Minister of Education and Skill Development, Dharmendra Pradhan had held a bilateral meeting with his Australian counterpart, Education Minister Jason Claire, MP.

The two Ministers then reviewed comprehensively the bilateral cooperation in education and skills and agreed to further strengthen the knowledge and skills partnership for greater mobility, employment and prosperity of the people in our two countries.

During the meeting, Pradhan described 2023 as a landmark year for Australia and India for cooperation, especially in the areas of education and skill development.

He then said that education and skills as primary and priority areas of our bilateral relations reflect the commitment of PM Narendra Modi and Australian PM Anthony Albanese to strengthen knowledge bridges.

Meanwhile, MP Jason Clare in his address explained how the future of countries will be shaped with the help of meaningful partnerships in the areas of education and skills.

He mentioned 450 existing research partnerships between the two countries. He also remarked that collaboration at the government, institutional and industry levels will further strengthen the alliance and benefit both countries.