Aspirants to Oz edu in city undeterred

PUNE: The brutal attack on 25-year-old Indian student Shravan Kumar and his three friends in Australia, which left the former battling for his life in a hospital there, have not deterred Pune students from going to Australia for higher studies. The aspirations to go to the land of kangaroos are as high as ever.
"My brothers have been staying there for almost seven years now and have never faced any problem.The real reason for the attacks might not be racism. Why should anybody harm me if I do no wrong to them?" asked Shamit Bamb, a student of MBA (Finance), who is about to visit Australia this summer. "I am not scared at all, in fact, I'm looking forward to a new life there," he added.
Another student, Harshad Arun Gangurde, seconds Shamit, "I have a friend there and I will be staying with him and so, I'm not scared."
Australia is one of the most-preferred educational destinations for Indian students. "In fact, there has been an increase in the number of students opting for Australia. Last year, we sent 68 students which has increased to 85 this year," said Shashikant Dhanshetti, branch manager of a city-based foreign education agency.
Dhanshetti refuses to believe that racism is the cause of the attacks. "Indian students going there need to understand and adapt to the place's culture. They should try to be friendly with the local people. Showing off your money or forming groups of their own can lead to such incidents," he said.
The main reason for the kangaroo-nation being preferred over the US and the UK is the transparency in their visa process and quality of education, which is monitored by the Australian government.
While, the Australia-bound birds seem to be fearing nothing, those living there may not be as relaxed.
Tarannum Lala, manager of an Australia-based education agency, said, "Initially there was a bit of panic, especially amongst the parents of our students. But now things are fine. We have contacted our students over there and they say the situation is not all that bad."
Though Tarannum says that it is too early to predict anything about students' migration to Australia after this incident, she feels it could affect the trend negatively.