Foreign students in ‘Economic slavery’: The Age

By Melbourne News Bureau

Melbourne: Thousands of foreign students in Australia are virtual economic slaves since 2005 when a big pool of unpaid labour was created as vocational students were made to do 900 hours of work without being paid. The major story “Foreign students ‘slave trade” in The Age (July 15) says, “Overseas students remained bound to the system as completion of such courses became a near-guaranteed pathway to permanent residency in Australia.”

The story comes at a time when the Australian authorities were still grappling with the bad Press it got over the recent attacks on Indian students. A harmony walk was organised recently in Melbourne but had little attendance of the Indian community or students.

The Age story quotes a Sydney immigration agent as describing the 900 hours of work as a ‘flood of free labour’ and a ‘trade in fraudulent documents had evolved with employers and agents selling students verification they had completed their 900 hours”.

“The changes in 2005 (900 hours requirement) have created a $15 billion education industry, as comparable countries don’t offer residency. But experts, teachers and students say many of the private college courses are little more than visa mills. Since 2001 the number of private colleges has risen from 664 to 4892,” the report says.

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