Australian agency to help resolve perception issues in India

(Credit: IANS) A national agency to oversee standards of higher education providers will help resolve Australia's "serious perception issues" in India, an official of a universities' group said announced recently, adding "we do have a problem in India, and it is our collective problem".

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard also announced the establishment of Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), which is going to be an independent body to regulate higher education providers.

The agency was established following concerns about safety and the quality of education providers to international students, including those from India.

There has been a string of attacks on Indians in Australia and one of the assaults proved fatal. Nitin Garg was fatally stabbed in Melbourne Jan 2.

A section of Indian students also faced acute problems after the institutes where they were enrolled shut down.

The new agency will help resolve the "serious perception issues" that had developed after attacks on Indian students in Australia, and cases of students paying high fees for substandard courses, said    Peter Coaldrake.

"We do have a problem in India, and it is our collective problem.

"A problem for a private VET (Vocational Education and Training) provider is a problem for Australia," Australian news agency AAP quoted Coaldrake as saying.

Coaldrake added "We all support the establishment of a body which can proudly wave the flag in terms of the quality of our system and which monitors the entry of new players."