Rajendra Baral, President of the Education Consultancy Association of Nepal (ECAN), spoke to the Post’s Sanjeev Giri about pursuing an education in Australia, its prospects and challenges. Australia is gradually turning into one of the most soughtafter destinations for education among Nepali students. What might be the reason? The charm of an Australian education has definitely been increasing over the past few years. The best thing about the Australian education system is that all universities are monitored directly by the government, and these universities are ranked among the best across the globe. Another factor, which has helped Australia emerge as a popular education destination, is the security of investment. There are many opportunities for qualified students. The streamlined visa policy, which was introduced recently, offers master’s and bachelor’s graduates a twoyear work permit after the completion of their course. This enables students to join other courses and work freely. Also, the Australian government has an insurance policy on tuition fees and an easy health insurance policy. There are many episodes of universities not refunding tuition fees when students fail to get visa. But in the case of Australia, the government easily refunds the fees. What are the major subjects that Nepali students prefer? Earlier, most students used to go to Australia for vocational education. However, this trend has changed now. Currently, students seem interested in subjects offered under the science and management faculties. Students are also attracted to technical subjects. Those who have completed their +2 and are planning to go abroad for their bachelor’s or master’s are mostly attracted to Australia. How feasible is it for students to pursue their education in Australia? Australia is quite an expensive destination. Nepali students are bound to pay high charges, with average fees amounting to around AUS $25,000—40,000 annually. Likewise, students are required to pay fees for the first six months at the beginning itself. However, the fees vary from subject to subject and university to university. Also, around AUS $18,610 is required annually for room and board. How many students go to Australia in a year? The number is growing gradually. As of now, around 1,000--1,200 students are going to Australia for further studies. Apart from the quality of education, the scope of job opportunities has also turned Australia into a favourite destination. Australia has already emerged as among the most popular destinations for Nepali students after India. Tell us something about the Australian visa policy. The Australian visa system was quite easy until 2009 when the Australian government was focusing mostly on offering Permanent Residency (PR). But now, only qualified students are being granted visas. As per the streamlined visa policy introduced by the Australian High Commission, students need to show a bank balance that can support their room and board requirements for at least a year. For this, they can take loans from commercial banks. Those who show their bank balance need to disclose income sources, which should be attested by the local VDC or Metropolitan office. Vocational education like hospitality management and other short courses require students to show a bank balance that can support their tuition, in addition to their room and board, for their period of stay in Australia. The funds are also required to be from Nabil or SBI bank accounts. Other basic criteria are a decent score in the IELTS exams. Nepalis are required to send their Australian visa applications to India for processing. Is this because of our small market? Up until 2006, Australia used to offer visas from Nepal itself. However, the Australian High Commission now works on visa issues of various South Asian countries from India. They have put up highly trained manpower in India. Even though the application destination has changed, it isn’t difficult for students to apply. They can choose a consultant as an agent and post applications to its office in India. The Australian High Commission forwards the outcome within two weeks. Not only Australia, the situation is the same with countries like the UK, New Zealand and Canada. Students complain that the fees for Australian visas are quite expensive. What do you say? Visa fees have definitely gone up. While the amount was around IRs 25,000 during 2008-09, it has been going up since 2011 and now, has reached somewhere around IRs 39,000. Since visa fees come under the policy of the Australian government, we really cannot comment on this. Moreover, the fees might be high since the Commission is only selecting qualified students. The only thing we are concerned about is that students from all the nations should be treated equally, as the charges are pretty high. What might be the challenges for Nepali students in Australia? The major problem among Nepali students is language proficiency. However, this dœsn’t mean that they are weak. Likewise, Nepali students need to compete with students from various countries, both in terms of studies as well as jobs. So, it is always handy for students to take short courses from CTEVT registered institutes. Moreover, students should mentally prepare for the fact that they need to start from zero. Counseling for students, as well as parents, is required as the country has a completely different environment, tradition, norms and values.

Published on: 3 April 2013 | The Kathmandu Post