Indian students will make Oz pay in 2010

After a year of racial attacks on desis, number of students going Down Under next year is expected to drop 21%

Indian students will make Oz pay in 2010

After a year of racial attacks on desis, number of students going Down Under next year is expected to drop 21%

Australia's Tourism Forec-asting Committee (TFC) said that judging from visa applications there would be 4,000 fewer Indian arrivals next year, a drop of 21 per cent.

"The resultant loss in economic value to Australia could be as high as A$ 78 million in 2010 if these enrolments are not filled by other international students," the TFC warned.

TFC chairman Bernard Salt said it was the first assessment of the impact of negative publicity over alleged racial violence and exploitation of Indian students this year.

"What we're saying is that based on consideration of visa applications there's a 20 per cent hit," Salt told state radio, adding that it was hard to say whether the drop was a "knee-jerk, one-year reaction".

Gautam Gupta, president of the Federation of Indian Students of Australia, said the predicted slump was not as severe as forecast. "We were predicting a drop of about 50 per cent," Gupta told state radio.

"If the drop is about 20 per cent, that's significantly lower than what was the prediction three months back."

Australia's higher education industry has grown in value to A$17.2 billion a year and is listed as the country's third largest export earner, as it targets India's growing middle class.

Students from the subcontinent account for 19 per cent of total international enrolments. They filled 1,17,000 places in the 12 months to October 2009, according to government statistics.

An interim report on Australia's international education sector released this month found its global reputation and brand had been damaged by violent attacks and migration scams, "particularly in India".

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels