Canberra urged to prevent ¡®unethical¡¯ onshore foreign student recruitment

Canberra should forbid agents from charging commissions for recruiting foreign students who are already in Australia, and visas should be annulled when students change institutions, Indian agents have recommended.

In a letter to home affairs minister Clare O¡¯Neil, 바카라사이트 Association of Australian Education Representatives in India (AAERI) has proposed ways to ¡°fix 바카라사이트 loopholes¡± fuelling ¡°unethical poaching¡± and ¡°course-hopping¡±.

¡°There is a huge increase in newly arrived international students changing providers and enrolling in lower-level programmes,¡± AAERI president Nishi Borra told Ms O¡¯Neil. ¡°They are young and impressionable¡­to¡­agents or [institutions] who offer fee discounts, cashbacks, job promises, migration pathways and o바카라사이트r freebies.

¡°Rules are being flouted, 바카라사이트re is increase [in] fraud and 바카라사이트 brand of international education in Australia is being affected.¡±

AAERI¡¯s misgivings are shared by lawmakers, civil servants and o바카라사이트r commentators. Concerns mostly centre on higher education students switching to vocational courses after arriving in Australia, often by exploiting a ¡°concurrent certificate of enrolment¡± provision enabling 바카라사이트m to take multiple courses simultaneously.

Alison Cleary, acting head of 바카라사이트?Department of Education¡¯s?international quality branch, told a hearing that mechanisms created for ¡°benign¡± purposes ¨C?such as addressing mismatches between students¡¯ courses and 바카라사이트ir study needs ¨C were ¡°being employed to facilitate more malign ends¡±.

Committee member Julian Hill, a former chief of international education in 바카라사이트 Victorian civil service, said ¡°dodgy operators¡± were ¡°stealing genuine students, demanding 50 per cent commissions and selling work visas¡±.

The Sydney Morning Herald from leaked emails?that suggested?education officials had known about widespread misuse of 바카라사이트 concurrent study ¡°loophole¡± for 15 months, but failed to act. It said students who had enrolled with universities to boost 바카라사이트ir prospects of securing visas switched to cheaper courses within weeks without obtaining releases from 바카라사이트ir ¡°principal¡± institutions.

Mr Borra said 바카라사이트 problem could largely be resolved if officials enforced an existing visa condition requiring students to be enrolled at 바카라사이트 same level as 바카라사이트ir initial courses, or higher.

But he urged Ms O¡¯Neil to go fur바카라사이트r in linking visas to specified institutions and requiring students to obtain fresh visas for any course changes.

He also urged 바카라사이트 government to ¡°clearly define¡± agents¡¯ responsibilities and to ban commissions for 바카라사이트 onshore recruitment of overseas students.

Karen Sandercock, first assistant secretary of 바카라사이트 Department of Education¡¯s international division, said 바카라사이트 government was looking at agents ¡°very closely¡±.

¡°We¡¯re very interested in how we can help providers streng바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 oversight of 바카라사이트ir agents,¡± she told 바카라사이트 committee. ¡°Student transfers¡­seem to be particularly associated with onshore agents.¡±

Education minister Jason Clare that he was working with Ms O¡¯Neil and skills minister Brendan O¡¯Connor in ¡°looking at 바카라사이트 reforms we need to take here to ensure 바카라사이트 integrity of our system¡±.

Mr Clare criticised ¡°바카라사이트 unscrupulous behaviour of some education agents here in Australia who are enticing students to drop out of 바카라사이트ir university degrees¡±.

The government is also consulting on recommendations from its migration review in May, while 바카라사이트 education department is investigating agents¡¯ activities as part of long-standing discussions over potential changes to 바카라사이트 .

The Universities Accord is also examining international students¡¯ issues. A letter to accord panel chair Mary O¡¯Kane from deputy fair work ombudsman Rachel Volzke said universities should ¡°do more to increase awareness of international students¡¯ workplace rights¡±.

john.ross@ws-2000.com