Kathmandu:

Students get 20-hour work permit per week and that will just help you to earn your pocket money.

Study aboard’. This is the mantra that young students don’t get tired of chanting nowadays. Because of easy visa process and numerous institutes providing quality education, Australia has become the favourite destination for many. Due to the massive increase in numbers of students going to Australia for higher education (total as of September 2008 stood at 15,766), the Australian Embassy here is taking steps to let Nepali students know the correct

admission procedures and process and is providing reliable information for studies in Australia.

A press meet was organised at the Australian Embassy on November 5 where Australian Ambassador Graeme Lade had invited Kelly H Raj, Counsellor (Education) at the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations of Australian High Commission, New Delhi share more information regarding education in Australia. Raj said that last year more than 15,700 students from Nepal flew to Australia for educational purposes. The increase seen in the percentage of growth of students migrating from Nepal to Australia has been tremendous.

However, Ambassador Lade expressed concern over too of much of advertisements around town with agents promising good universities at affordable prices.

He warned, “Some of the information they are giving is too good to be true, so we want Nepalis to have reliable information and be aware of the procedures while going to Australia.”

He stressed on the issue that a ‘cheap deal’ does not always mean the best deal.

Raj requested that students need to do their homework.

“Students need to do their homework before deciding on the university. It’s important that they know if the agency they are going from has an official contract with the university it is sending the students to,” she said.

Before deciding on the course and university, students can always log on to the official educational site of Australia (www.studyinaustralia.gov.au), or they can even consult directly the main office in New Delhi.

It’s important for students to know if the institute has been registered with the government and also if scholarships are available. “Many have the misconception that Australian universities do not give scholarships. This is not true. You can apply for various scholarships but make sure you are thorough with your research about all the facilities and systems, and also don’t forget to double check what your agency tells you,” she said.

As for spot admissions, Ambassador Lade said, “The offer may sound very tempting and attractive, but that does not qualify you for visa. Admission and visa are two different procedures and one does not make you eligible for another.”

About work permit for students, one has to be prepared that jobs aren’t easy to find and even if you do get any, that does not mean you will be able to earn your living through it. “Students get 20-hour work permit per week and that will just help you to earn your pocket money. As you have to assure that your education and living costs will be handled by your family earning during visa process, you won’t be able to cover your living working as a student,” Raj informed.

While most of the agencies stress only on Melbourne and Sydney, Raj assured that other institutes around Australia provide equally good and some even have better courses on offer.

Last but not the least Ambassador Lade requested students to study what they want to rather than what the agency lures them saying, “It’s the best course and you will get visa easily”.

“I know how families sacrifice a lot to make sure their children are getting a good education

in Australia. So it is very important to be prepared with the right information and do your homework before applying. Because if anything goes wrong, at the end of the day it’s the students who get disappointed,” he added.

Oz-bound

According to the report presented by the Australian Embassy, the total number of Nepali students as of September were 15,766, which reflects a growth rate of 110 per cent as compared to the enrolment in year ‘07.

•Higher education enrolments are up by 37 pc.

•Vocational education enrolments primarily are up by 159 pc.

•ELICOS enrolments increased by 65 pc.

•School enrolments increased by 89 pc.

Most preferred courses by Nepali students in order of preference —

•Services, Hospitality, Transport: 5,482 students, up by 183 pc

•Business Administration Management: 5,256 students, up by 74 pc

•ELICOS: 1,386 students, up by 58 pc

•Computer Science, Information Systems: 1,255 students, up by 54 pc

•Nursing: 792 students, up by 110 pc