By IANS,
Chandigarh : A high-level delegation from Australia’s Victoria state met Punjab ministers here Tuesday and assured them of the safety of Indian students, many of whom have faced violent attacks in Down Under in recent months.
“Punjab is an important place for us as more than 50 percent of Indian students studying in Australia are from this state. Therefore we have decided to personally meet the officials of this state to deliberate on various issues and students’ safety is one of them,” Jacinta Allan, Victoria’s minister of skills and workforce participation, told reporters.
“We have strongly condemned the attacks on Indian students. After those incidents we have increased Victoria’s police force by another 1,700 personnel. We have increased police vigil at railway stations, airports and also initiated a 24-hour student support service,” she added.
An estimated 97,000 Indians – 49,000 of them from Punjab – are studying in Australia.
Between June and August, around 30 Indian students were attacked in various cities in Australia.
Talking about the reduction in the number of Indian students applying for studies in Australia following the attacks, Allan said: “It will be premature to comment on this as the real picture will become clear only in March 2010.
“However, we have got inquiries from concerned students and their parents and this could impact the inflow. But we are making every possible effort to portray Victoria as the safest state for international students,” she pointed out.
International education is Victoria’s largest export earner, valued at $4.9 billion in 2008, that saw an increase of around $2.2 billion in four years since 2004.
“The Victorian government has outlined a $1 million strategy, ‘Thinking global: Victoria’s action plan for international education’. We have discussed this new strategy with Punjab Education Minister Upinderjit Kaur,” said Allan.
The delegation has met Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal in New Delhi. It will also visit Hyderabad and Bangalore during its 10-day India visit.