Mumbai:
Avoid Australia - that's the clear warning to students planning to study Down Under, issued by the Indian government.
On the ground, the government's warning apart, the unending attacks and two deaths resulting from it have clearly rattled admission seekers and students already studying there. (Read: Govt advises students to stay away from Oz)
Some families have called back their wards, cutting their studies short. Few have agreed to wait and watch for now.
As attacks Down Under show no signs of abating, the impact is already visible on the ground.
The number of Indian students applying for student visas to Australia has fallen by half with many of them now preferring to explore education opportunities in UK and Canada.
Some like Prashant Parsuram, currently in Mumbai on a vacation, have decided not to return leaving their course midway.
"Though I have not been attacked, my dad says he is not going to wait for something to happen to me before he decides one way or the other," says Prashant Parsuram.
"Only students with families there are OK about going back. Even students with offer letters to Australia are looking at other countries now," says Shailesh Patel, the Director of Edu Forum.
But a few parents like Suryakant Shah have decided to let their children stick on, at least for now.
"I am very very scared but I am allowing him to stay. I have told him to be very careful," he says. When asked if Australian government has not acted fast enough, he agreed.
Public opinion is that the Australian government cannot afford to ignore about 95,000 students enrolled in Australian universities in 2009 alone, contributing a huge chunk to the country's 19 billion dollar internal education industry.
The business alone, if not protecting their image, should be enough to give the Australian government something to worry about. At least one would hope so.
On the ground, the government's warning apart, the unending attacks and two deaths resulting from it have clearly rattled admission seekers and students already studying there. (Read: Govt advises students to stay away from Oz)
Some families have called back their wards, cutting their studies short. Few have agreed to wait and watch for now.
As attacks Down Under show no signs of abating, the impact is already visible on the ground.
The number of Indian students applying for student visas to Australia has fallen by half with many of them now preferring to explore education opportunities in UK and Canada.
Some like Prashant Parsuram, currently in Mumbai on a vacation, have decided not to return leaving their course midway.
"Though I have not been attacked, my dad says he is not going to wait for something to happen to me before he decides one way or the other," says Prashant Parsuram.
"Only students with families there are OK about going back. Even students with offer letters to Australia are looking at other countries now," says Shailesh Patel, the Director of Edu Forum.
But a few parents like Suryakant Shah have decided to let their children stick on, at least for now.
"I am very very scared but I am allowing him to stay. I have told him to be very careful," he says. When asked if Australian government has not acted fast enough, he agreed.
Public opinion is that the Australian government cannot afford to ignore about 95,000 students enrolled in Australian universities in 2009 alone, contributing a huge chunk to the country's 19 billion dollar internal education industry.
The business alone, if not protecting their image, should be enough to give the Australian government something to worry about. At least one would hope so.
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