Australia has banned students from five Indian states from entering any of its universities. This is a major jolt to the students searching for options after American President Donald Trump imposed very strict rules for visas to Indian students.
The five Indian states from where the students will not be allowed to enter Australian universities are Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Gujarat, in addition to Jammu and Kashmir. The decision was taken as the students admitted to the universities in Australia are full-time working with some organisations. This is a violation of the visa rules. Australia had imposed a ban two years ago, but the conditions were relaxed later. The ban has been imposed again after misuse of the student visa was noticed.
Meanwhile, the Australian government said that it does not approve of region-based bans, but the universities have the liberty to make decisions for admissions. The Association of Australian Education Representatives in India has called the decision ‘discriminatory’.