Indian students getting Australian visas has dropped by a fifth in a year

Melbourne, July 16 (ANI): Indian students are shunning Australia in the wake of the government's crackdown on the international education industry.

The biggest drop involved students from India. The figure has dropped by a fifth, according to the Herald Sun.

In April 2009, the number of Indian students getting visas was 55,000, but in the same month this year, that figure has gone down to just over 10,000.

The surge in student numbers has played a big role in the nation's rapid population growth in recent years, with about 430,000 international students in Australia in May.

But the number of foreign student visas issued for higher education courses in the first nine months of 2009-10 was less than 60,000, compared with more than 70,000 for the same period last year, according to Immigration Department data.

Monash University immigration expert Bob Birrell said yesterday the figures confirmed the Government's changes were working. (ANI)