OZ out , USA In

Australia has dropped out of the good books of Indian students looking for education abroad, while the US is gaining lost ground.

There has been a dip of 63% in the number of student visa applications from India to Australia between July 2010 and June 2011, compared to the same period the previous year. The US Consulate, meanwhile, registered a 20% increase in the number of visa seekers from October 2010 to June 2011 over the same period the previous year. In absolute terms, there are more than one lakh Indian students in the US and about half the number in Australia.
The slide in numbers for Australia comes after a steep increase in the number of offshore student visa applications from 12,592 in 2004-05 to 67,141 in 2008-09.It declined sharply in 2009-10 to 18,514 and dropped to 6,875 in 2010-11.

This resulted in India, which had the highest student population in Australia in 2008-09, going to the second position behind China in 2009-10.The next year, it went down further, to the third place as the US took the second position.

The quality of applications received has also gone down steeply, with less than half the applicants (49.6%) being granted visas in 2011. In 2008-09, the approval grant rates was 88.4%, which went down to 46.7% in 2009-10.
Australia's minister for tertiary education, skills and jobs Chris Evans attributed the trend to visa regulations. "We tightened visa approval in that section of the market. We are trying to attract postgraduate students and finding new ways to collaborate with the education sector in India. In vocational education, we are looking at collaborations with Indian skill training providers," said Evans, who is in the country for the Annual India-Australia Ministerial Dialogue on Education Cooperation.
Meanwhile, the number of non-immigrant visas, which includes student visas, issued to Indians by the US has gone up from 4,99,686 in the US fiscal year 2009 (October to September ) to 5,28,286 in 2010. As the current fiscal year is not complete, the figures for 2011 are unavailable, but so far show an increase of 20% compared to the same period last year.

Analysts point to a combination of reasons. "The earlier visa policies of the US were responsible for the growth of traffic to second and third level countries like Australia and Canada. Too many visas were refused in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. This gave way to the popularity of the Australia market. But with the recent violent incidents against Indians in Australia, other markets are picking up," said C B Paul Chellakumar, president of the Association of Accredited Advisors on Overseas Education.

YOUTH CONCENTRATION

CANADA Centre for Youth Excellence Nearly Complete

Making it a much Suitable destination for the YOUTH

With over 80 per cent of construction complete, the Centre for Youth Excellence is nearly set to open its doors to the public, offering Winnipeg youth a dynamic place to visit and become engaged. The Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety and Regional Minister for Manitoba, City of Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz and Youth for Christ Executive Director John Courtney, took part in a site tour today to view the facility’s ongoing progress.

“It is extremely gratifying to see how close this facility is to being able to welcome our city’s young people inside,” said Minister Toews. “This significant infrastructure project is not only an example of our Government’s commitment to enhancing and strengthening the infrastructure of Canadian communities, it is also an important piece in our continued efforts to keeping at-risk youth in Winnipeg away from crime and gangs.”

“I am pleased to see the speed of which this project is taking shape at Higgins and Main,” said Mayor Katz. “This important initiative will be a symbol of hope and opportunity in a pocket of our city that needs it, and I hope it will provide our youth with the experiences necessary to find success in our city.”

“We are thrilled with the progress,” said Courtney. “We could not have found better project partners. Concord Projects and Ray Wan Architect have been amazing to work with. We have consistently been able to build with excellence and within budget. The building is truly inspirational. It is a clear statement that we value youth and believe in their future.”

The 50,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility promotes an active and healthy lifestyle for young people. It houses an indoor skate park; a drop-in centre; a job skills and training centre; a counseling centre; a dance and performing arts studio; a fitness centre; a gymnasium space for floor hockey, volleyball, basketball, and soccer; a climbing wall; and a multipurpose theatre.

The total eligible project costs are over $9.5 million, with the federal and municipal governments each committing one-third of the costs, up to $3.2 million each. Youth for Christ will provide the remaining one-third funding, as well as other project costs. The Government of Canada’s funding comes from the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, announced in Canada’s Economic Action Plan.

As part of the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund is providing funding to more than 4,100 infrastructure projects across the country. Since May 2009, more than 111 projects have received a total federal investment of over $138.3 million under the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund across Manitoba.