Melbourne: India signs a major educational pact with Australia. Speaking on the occasion, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal said that Indian students continued to come to Australia for higher studies and the government had not prevented them from doing so. Mr Sibal also mentioned that New Delhi wants to take the relationship forward with Canberra, as the education pact between India and Australia was signed.
A joint ministerial statement was signed to expand the education exchange programme, as reported on Thursday by Australian news agency AAP. With the signing of the pact, an India-Australia Education Council comprising experts from both countries will now be set up. The relation between India and Australia had soured following the fatal stabbing of Nitin Garg on January 2, 2010, in this city. Moreover, a travel advisory had also been issued to Indian students coming to Australia.
Further, the media report said that it was recently revealed that international student numbers were down nationally by three percent and by 12 percent in Victoria. The drop in the number of Indian students in the Victorian institutions was 40 percent, from 6303 to 3761.
