Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Vic: Australia and India sign up to further education
AAP General News (Australia)
04-08-2010
Vic: Australia and India sign up to further education
By Greg Roberts
MELBOURNE, April 8 AAP - Three months after the stabbing death of Indian graduate Nitin
Garg on his way to work in Melbourne, Australia and India have signed a major deal on
education.
An India-Australia Education Council - made up of experts from both sides - will be
formed and a joint ministerial statement has been signed to expand the education exchange
program.
The relationship reached an all-time low following Garg's death - which followed other
violent attacks on Indians - and a travel advisory was issued by the Indian government
warning students against coming to Australia.
Kapil Sibal, India's Minister of Human Resource Development - which includes education
- met with Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Melbourne for the signing.
The pair met last September and on Thursday Mr Sibal said he believed the attacks on
young Indians had declined.
"The fact that I am here suggests we want to take the relationship forward, it does
not mean that we are not concerned about what's happening here," he told reporters.
"The advisory obviously was given at a point in time when the incidents were at a height...students
are still coming to Australia, we have not prevented them.
"I think the Australian government is taking strong steps in that direction to prevent
those thing happening."
The federal education department revealed recently that international student numbers
were down nationally three per cent and 12 per cent in Victoria.
The decline in Indian student numbers in Victorian institutions was 40 per cent, from
6303 to 3761.
Ms Gillard said the government would toughen up regulation of education colleges through
a "re-registration process" following problems with international students not getting
proper qualifications.
"For an Indian family that sends a young person to this country a long way from home,
they want to know that their young person is going to be safe, get a good experience,
a great education and they're going to be able to go back home and use those skills,"
Ms Gillard said.
Last week a new law came into effect in India making it compulsory for the state to
provide free education to every child in India aged between six and 14 years.
There is currently a high school drop-out rate of 43 per cent, which Mr Sibal wants
to reduce, while increasing the number of university and vocational training students
from 12.4 per cent (22 million) to 30 per cent (60 million) by 2020.
They will need 800,000 elementary school teachers - there are currently about 500,000
- 700-800 universities and 40,000-50,000 students in a decade to do it.
"It's in that context we are reaching out to Australia, saying you have enormous opportunities
in India to partner with us at the school, vocational education and training level, higher
education and research level," Mr Sibal said.
"It's very important for both of us at the two ends to develop the skills which allow
our human resources to take advantage."
AAP gr/jxt/it
KEYWORD: INDIA AUST
2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
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