By Roger Maynard, Australia Correspondent

SYDNEY: Australia is to crack down on unscrupulous foreign agents who promise visas to overseas students as part of dubious education packages.

Though data was not readily available, it is believed that the situation has worsened in recent years, as the Australian education industry becomes increasingly numbers-driven.

Now, Immigration Minister Chris Evans has pledged to widen Australia's legislative powers in order to tackle the issue. This could mean overseas agents being more closely monitored and governments in other countries being asked to take action against offenders.

Senator Evans revealed he had already raised the matter with the Chinese Ambassador in Canberra. 'I have very severe concerns about education agents both in this country and abroad,' he admitted.

'If someone gets induced and sold a package in their home country, there's very little we can currently do about that - they arrive with expectations that can't be delivered,' he pointed out.

Many international students fall victim to dishonest agents who promise much more than they can offer, including favourable, long-term visa outcomes.

Mr Eric Pang, president of Australia's main international student body, the National Liaison Committee, told The Straits Times yesterday that it was lobbying the government to be much stricter with foreign agents.

'The agents can easily mislead students in their decisions because they have agreements and get commissions from certain educational institutions,' he explained. 'Everyone is jumping into the recruitment business because the industry is becoming so numbers-driven, rather than quality-driven,' he claimed.

'And the education providers themselves are finding it hard to monitor the agents,' he said.

According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, the problem emerged with the introduction of full fee-paying foreign students in 1986. Since then, the number of private universities has increased.

The Australian education industry has been so successful that it is currently the nation's third-biggest export earner, generating A$12.5 billion (S$12.7 billion) last year.

About 370,000 students from 190 countries attend Australian universities and privately-run colleges.

Most of them come from China, India, Malaysia and Hong Kong, with Singapore, which provided 7,445 new enrolments last year, in fifth position.

Canberra is keenly aware that the continued success of the country's education business depends on quality.

'Obviously they (the universities) don't want anything that undermines the reputation of Australia's education services,' Mr Evans said.

Meanwhile, the minister has also flagged a cut in Australia's annual migrant intake in the wake of the global economic slowdown.

He told a Senate estimates hearing that the current annual quota, which is nudging 200,000, would almost certainly be cut next year. But he emphasised that a final decision has yet to be made.

rogmaynard@compuserve.com

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 23 Oct, 2008.