Australia eases visa laws for Indian, Chinese students

March 22, 2014

Australia_visa_laws Melbourne, Mar 22: In a significant reform of the immigration laws affecting international students, Australia has eased the financial requirements for the visa applicants from "high risk" countries like India, China and Pakistan.

International students from the so-called high risk countries would not be assessed according to the stringent Assessment Level 4 and 5 criteria now as they have been removed. The changes have been made to implement the recommendations made by the a 'Review of the Student Visa Assessment Level Framework 2013' and would come into effect from March 22.

"This is certainly good news, especially for Indian students who can now realise their dream of getting quality education in Australia," says a Melbourne-based education and immigration consultant Jag Khairra.

"The change in assessment levels for countries like India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan will help boost number of students from these countries," he opined.

The direct implication of the March 22 changes would be that the international students from countries like India, China and Pakistan would have to show lesser amount of money in order to gain entry to Australia. These students would be now be required to provide evidence of funds for 12 months' study in Australia instead of 18 months.

"Great news for students from India who will now show half the funds for diploma-level courses than before," said a Sydney-based vocational college owner, Moninder Singh, in a communique to IANS.

"This would mean students from countries like India and Pakistan would be able to apply for a student visa with up to A$20,000 (approximately Rs.1.1 million) less in the bank," Moninder Singh added.

This announcement is likely to be welcomed by the Vocational Education and Training (VET) and English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) sector institutes who have been affected by a significant downturn in the number of international student enrolments.

"The VET sector, which has been struggling from the last three-four years, shall see the revival in the education industry," Khairra said while talking to IANS.

The Australian VET sector providers experienced a dramatic drop in the number of enrolments from India after the alleged racist attacks on south Asian students in 2009. The plummeting graph became much worse as the Labour government decided to tighten the visa laws for students from higher Assessment Level countries (e.g. India, China, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, etc.) studying in the VET institutes.

Even before the latest reforms, Australian has been gaining traction as a favoured destination for Indian students wishing to study overseas. The overall number of Indians applying for Australian student visa has experienced a dramatic increase (115 percent) in the past one year or so. The visa grants from India has also gone up in three figures.

Even though the number of Indian students getting Australian visa is very small compared to the pre-2009 figures, the South Asian country continues to be the second-largest source country for international student enrolments in Australia.

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St Agnes College takes classroom learning to adopted villages

Media Release

June 12,2020

Mangaluru: Agnes Towards Community (ATC) is a five-year old project of social responsibility undertaken by St Agnes College (Autonomous), Mangaluru to give their students a taste for community service before they leave the portals of the College. For this purpose the College has adopted five villages in the vicinity of Mangaluru, namely Harekala, Amblamogaru, Munnuru, Kotekar and Hosabettu. The ATC programmes are undertaken on saturdays wherein all the final year students as guided by their staff members are given hands on experience of community interaction and service. The four saturdays in a month are divided to plan, prepare, execute and evaluate the whole service exercise.

The year 2019-20 saw a major change in the format of the project. The Science and Arts faculty came together with projects based on the syllabus of study and apply it for their service learning activity. This was done with the dual purpose of helping students to learn the topic practically in a real social set up and to identify and render useful scientific based practical solutions to the problems faced by the villagers.

One such problem is water purity. Since water plays an important role in maintaining the human health and welfare, water quality testing is important because it identifies contaminants and prevents water borne diseases. In this regard, Departments of Chemistry and Microbiology took up a project on water analysis. The major objectives of the project were: 1. To provide hands on experience on water analysis, a topic learnt by the students in their course of study. 2. To test the potability of water sources of the villages, so that the scientific and practical solutions can be provided, wherever needed.

The first village chosen for the study was Amblamogaru. The two batches of students (20 students in each batch) were led by Mrs.Prajwal Rao, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Ms.Smitha, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry. They were assisted by Ms.Hezil Saldanha, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry in carrying out the project.

The water samples from different sources were collected in sterilised glass bottles. The students were enthusiastic in collecting water samples and also interacted with the village folk regarding the availability of drinking water supplies. The students under the guidance of faculty carried out the experiments in water analysis in Chemistry and Microbiology Laboratories at St Agnes College. This included testing for parameters such as pH, conductivity, total hardness and turbidity, presumptive, confirmed and completed Coliform test. From chemical analysis, it is found that all parameters satisfy the standards of potable water. Microbiological analysis showed that the water samples were potable for human consumption (No faecal contamination observed).

The project has been envisaged to help the villagers to have recourse to the information on the results of the tests conducted. The water samples collected for the analysis were found to be potable for human consumption. If the water samples not been found to be potable, the departments had strategized to guide the villagers on useful scientific and practical solutions wherever needed.

This project of Agnes Towards Community (ATC) helped students to go beyond classroom learning, develop practical skills, disseminate knowledge and render service to the community. This activity also provided direct and relevant experiences to the students that deepened and enriched their learning abilities.

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CBSE: Core objective of NEP will be translated into action through NCF

News Network

August 9,2020

The core objective of the new National Education Policy (NEP), which has given freedom for amalgamation of different concepts, will be translated into action through the National Curriculum Framework, CBSE director said on Friday.

CBSE Director Biswajit Saha made the comments during an e-conclave on the new NEP organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“The core objective of the policy will be translated into action through the National Curriculum Framework (NCF), which needs more participatory approach. The policy has given freedom for amalgamation of different concepts and multidisciplinary approach. The NCF will give a roadmap for implementation of reforms laid down in the policy,” he said.

Saha said the training required for competency-based education and learning outcomes can be achieved with progressive participation of stakeholders.

“There could be a debate about the training required for competency-based education and learning outcomes but once we have decided we want to do it, it can be achieved with progressive participation of stakeholders. It is a forward-looking policy,” the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) director said.

The NEP approved by the Union Cabinet replaces the 34-year-old National Policy on Education framed in 1986 and is aimed at paving the way for transformational reforms in school and higher education systems to make India a global knowledge superpower.

Choice between 3 or 4 year undergraduate courses, multiple entry and exit options in degree courses, adding 3.5 crore seats in higher education institutions, which will now have a single regulator, discontinuation of M.Phil programmes and fixation of fees are among the higher education reforms outlined in the new NEP.

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Mangaluru: St Agnes College celebrates 99th College Day and Merit Programme

Media Release

February 13,2020

St. Agnes College (Autonomous), Mangaluru, which is celebrating its centenary year, celebrated 99th college day and merit programme of the academic year 2019-20 in P.U College Auditorium on February 11.

Ms. Philomina Lobo, Retired Director, Secondary Education department of public instructions, Government of India was the chief guest of the programme. The programme began by evoking the blessings of God. Sr Dr M Jeswina A.C, Principal, St Agnes College, Sr Dr M Maria Roopa A.C, the Joint Secretary, Mr. Ronald Pereira PTA Vice President, Mr Charles Pais the Controller of Examinations ,Dr Subha Rao were present.

Ms. Seemanthini, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Applications presented the annual college report digitally, highlighting the achievements of the institution, staff and students for the academic year.

Addressing the students, Ms Philomina Lobo advised, “You have knowledge and intelligence but you need to pray for wisdom. Use your talents in the right way.” She also mentioned that the companies today are looking forward for skilful youngsters and asked the students to “be skilful” in order to achieve success in life.

Students received Principal's role of honour, various scholarships and merit certificates for their excellence in academics. The cabinet members of the current academic year were also awarded on the occasion. The Principal gave a token of gratitude to Ms Philomena Lobo, who is also an alumna of the college. Mrs Meera, HOD, Department of History proposed the vote of thanks.