'Students should be more discreet in choosing courses in Australia'

India today advised its students to be "more discreet" in choosing educational institutes and courses of study in Australia, which admitted there was a drop in applications of Indian students following media coverage of attacks on them.

External affairs minister SM Krishna, who met the Australian high commissioner Peter Verghese on the sidelines of a function here, told reporters later, that he had his own doubts on Indian students going there for certain vocational courses which were easily available in India.     

"Firstly, I have my own doubts about Indian students going there to pursue higher education. I can understand if it was at the level of universities, IITs or some other institution of excellence," he said adding, "but when I went to Australia, I was shocked to see that so many students that had gone there for various other courses".
    
"Australia doesn't need to teach us about facials, hair styling and various other things. There are a number of institutions in India itself-- in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore where these courses are available," Krishna said.

The minister said, "I would advise the students and also tell parents that they should be more discreet about choosing educational institutes for their children".

Reacting to the comments made by Krishna, Verghese said, though there has been a reduction in the number of applications from Indian students in the aftermath of the media coverage after the recent attacks in which two students were killed, "we (Australia) are not in a number's game. We are in for quality".