Universities extend Indian student ban amid fraud concerns

Universities in Victoria and New South Wales have banned the recruitment of students from some Indian states as Australia’s federal government has voiced fresh concern over increasing visa fraud, writes Clay Lucas for The Sydney Morning Herald.

The move comes as rejection rates for Indian applicants across all Australian universities have soared to their highest level in a decade, with one in four applications now being deemed as ‘fraudulent’ or ‘non-genuine’ by the Department of Home Affairs. The surge in rejections has accompanied a sharp increase in the volume of applications, prompting fresh calls for regulation of education agents who arrange visas for foreign students.

News of the latest bans on students from specific Indian states, from Federation University Australia in Victoria and Western Sydney University in New South Wales, came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Australia on Monday night, ahead of an event in Sydney on Tuesday 23 May with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Full report on The Sydney Morning Herald site