In light of the recent spate of racist attacks, Indian students Down Under are now looking at a shift in locations, seeking transfers within universities to cities perceived relatively safe.

“A lot of Indian students are seeking interstate transfers from Victoria, Sydney and Melbourne to safer cities like Perth and Adelaide that offer more opportunities. Students from across the east coast are flocking to safer destinations with more opportunities,” said Jamal Qureshi, South Asia Regional Marketing officer of the Perth Education City, a joint industry (education) initiative of the West Australian government.

Now, in an attempt to draw more Indian students, the Perth Education City, in collaboration with the Western Australia Trade Office in India and the Government of Western Australia has organised an ‘Education Exhibition and Seminar 2009’ to ‘tell students why they should head to Perth’.

The officials will be travelling to six major cities (Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai) to promote Perth as an education destination.

“Queries from Indian students for universities across Australia have considerably reduced. On the contrary, the number of serious queries has increased. This filter effect will be beneficial for both students and will also be in the interest of the universities,” said Qureshi.

“As per agents, inquiries from Indian students have decreased from 50 to 40 percent. Though the clashes in some of the little pockets are hyped, Australia as a whole has a lot of education destinations on offer,” added Richard Geddes, International Marketing Manager, Edith Cowan University.

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