Two Australian universities – Federation University in Victoria and Western Sydney University in New South Wales – have separately announced bans on the intake of students from some Indian states citing concerns over a rise in fraudulent visa applications.
The education agents were instructed to not consider students from Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The report indicated that one in four applications is now deemed “fraudulent” or “non-genuine” by the country’s Department of Home Affairs.
Due to the urgency of this matter, the university has decided to pause recruitment from these regions in India, effective immediately.” the letter further said.
The authorities are alarmed that a large number of Indian students who started courses in 2022 had dropped out. The concern was that a considerable number of applicants, rather than genuinely seeking educational opportunities, appear to have ulterior motives centered around employment prospects in Australia instead of pursuing their intended studies.