Fraud applications: Indian students face ban / restrictions from 5 Australian universities

News Network
April 18, 2023

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At least five Australian universities have placed bans or restrictions on students from some Indian states, amidst a surge in fraudulent applications from South Asia seeking to work – not study – in this country, according to a media report.

Australia is on track for its biggest-ever annual intake of Indian students, topping 2019’s high watermark of 75,000.

But the current surge has prompted concerns from lawmakers and the education sector about the integrity of Australia’s immigration system and the long-term impact on the nation’s lucrative international education market, The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported on Tuesday.

“The volume of students arriving has come back a lot stronger than anyone was expecting,” said Jon Chew from global education firm Navitas.

 “We knew there would be a lot of pent-up demand, but there has also been a surge in non-genuine students,” Chew was quoted as saying.

With many applications deemed by universities not to meet Australian visa requirements that they are a “genuine temporary entrant” coming solely for education, universities are putting restrictions in place to pre-empt their “risk rating” being downgraded, the report said.

An investigation by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald newspapers has obtained emails from within Victoria University, Edith Cowan University, the University of Wollongong, Torrens University, and agents working for Southern Cross University that show the crackdown on applications from Indian students.

Those universities that have restricted access to some Indian states are concerned Home Affairs will reduce their ability to fast-track student visas because of the number of applicants who are actually seeking to work – not study – in Australia.

Perth’s Edith Cowan University in February placed an outright ban on applicants from the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, then in March, Victoria University increased restrictions on student applications from eight Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

These restrictions came just days after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited India, in part to celebrate Australia’s education links and announce a new agreement with Australia’s universities and colleges that would, he said, herald “the most comprehensive and ambitious arrangement agreed to by India with any country”.

Crucially, the agreement included a “mutual recognition of qualifications between Australia and India”, which will make travelling to either country for university study easier.

The University of Wollongong in March also ratcheted up conditions on its “genuine temporary entrant” test on students from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Nigeria and “other countries deemed a risk (of students not being a genuine temporary entrant) by the Department of Home Affairs”.

A spokeswoman for Adelaide’s Torrens University said it too was “now looking carefully at each area where our applications come from” after the university told The Times Higher Education in March that it was considering only “very strong” applications from Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab, the report added. 

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News Network
May 24,2023

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New Delhi, May 24: The new Parliament building, which is set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on May 28, has found itself in the middle of a political controversy.

Congress and other Opposition parties have been voicing their displeasure at the fact that President Droupadi Murmu, who is the constitutional head of the Parliament, has not been invited to inaugurate the new structure.

Another point of contention for the Opposition is the fact that May 28, which is the birthday of Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar, has been chosen as the date for the inauguration.

This has led to a war of words between the BJP and Opposition parties.

Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) became the first party to announce that they would be boycotting the inauguration ceremony soon after invites for the same were sent out by the Lok Sabha Secretary. TMC MP Derek O'Brien said on Twitter: "Parliament is not just a new building; it is an establishment with old traditions, values, precedents and rules - it is the foundation of Indian democracy. PM Modi doesn’t get that. For him, Sunday’s inauguration of the new building is all about I, ME, MYSELF. So count us out."

Soon after, Aam Admi Party (AAP) followed suit. 

Since then, the list of parties who have come out to announce that they will be boycotting the ceremony has been increasing. Currently, these are the parties (and the number of MPs they have) who have officially announced that they will be keeping a distance when PM Modi inaugurates the new structure on May 28:

1. Indian National Congress
2. Trinamool Congress
3. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
4. Janata Dal (United)
5. Aam Aadmi Party
6. Nationalist Congress Party 
7. Shiv Sena (UBT)
8. Communist Party of India (Marxist)
9. Samajwadi Party
10. Rashtriya Janata Dal
11. Communist Party of India
12. Indian Union Muslim League
13. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
14. National Conference
15. Kerala Congress (Mani)
16. Revolutionary Socialist Party 
17. Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi
18. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
19. Rashtriya Lok Dal

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News Network
May 20,2023

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Bengaluru, May 20: BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel on Saturday took a swipe at new Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleging that he does not enjoy the freedom of picking Ministers of his choice in his Cabinet.

Posting a letter by the Congress general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal to Siddaramaiah on his Twitter handle, Kateel said the new Chief Minister has become a puppet of Congress high command from day one.

In the letter, Venugopal shared the list of eight MLAs saying that Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharge has approved their names as the Cabinet Ministers.

"You are hereby requested to see that this decision is executed as per provisions of the appropriate law," Venugopal wrote in the letter.

"This letter is proof that Siddaramaiah does not have the freedom to decide who should be Ministers in the Congress government of Karnataka. Siddaramaiah who believes in socialist ideology became a puppet and rubber stamp Chief Minister of the Congress high command from the day one," Kateel tweeted.

Siddaramaiah was sworn in as Chief Minister for the second term, along with state Congress president D K Shivakumar as Deputy Chief Minister, and eight legislators as Ministers on Saturday, exactly a week after the party swept the Assembly polls in Karnataka.

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News Network
May 18,2023

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Bengaluru, May 18: Congress leader DK Shivakumar, who has settled for the number two post in Karnataka after days of hard negotiations, today said he had "accepted the high command's decision like we have to accept a judge's verdict in court".

The Congress today announced that Siddaramaiah will be the next Chief Minister of Karnataka and Mr Shivakumar his "only deputy", ending five days of suspense. They will be sworn in on Saturday.

Mr Shivakumar, 61, fought hard and refused to back down on his demand for the chief minister's post until Sonia Gandhi stepped in. He finally agreed to "sacrifice in the interest of the party".

"Once we agree that we will leave it to the high command, we have to accept the verdict. A lot of us will be arguing in court. Ultimately, what the judge said has to be accepted. All 135 MLAs, all of us joined and said we will leave it to the high command," Mr Shivakumar said in a television interview.

"We assured the people of Karnataka. Personal interest comes later, party interest is first. That is what my commitment is," he said.

"Ultimately, for various reasons, suppose if we had not won, what would have been the position? Now we have won, we have to get the fruit out of it. It is not me alone, lakhs and lakhs of workers have done their best. We will have to look at their end also," he added.

Asked whether it was Sonia Gandhi's persuasion that finally settled the conflict, Mr Shivakumar said: "I don't want to bring Mrs Gandhi or the Gandhi family into this. I just met Rahul (Gandhi) ji. I met Mallikarjun Kharge. I met AICC (All India Congress Committee) office bearers, that's it."

On power-sharing with Siddaramaiah after their tussle for power, Mr Shivakumar said: "The work has to start. It needs a week or something to start. Let it start...let us see the success story."

He dismissed questions about how the Congress would deliver on its five guarantees promise, believed to cost about ₹ 51,000 crore.

"You leave it to us, we have a dedicated team for it. We have just worked out all the economics," he said, not elaborating. 

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