The issue of deportation of Indian students from New Zealand due to the alleged fraud in their visa applications could lead to a diplomatic tussle between India and New Zealand after the Indian High Commissioner in New Zealand threw his weight behind the embattled students.
Indian High Commissioner Sanjiv Kohli who has already taken up the issue with the authorities in New Zealand said it was unfair to deport the students who had already started their courses. He said the concerned institutions should be held to account.
“Action , if any, has to be against the concerned institutions, their agents and responsibility fixed on those who failed to supervise the process and cleared the visas on the basis of documents presented.”
"You cannot be advertising yourself as world-class teaching institutions, admit international students, charge them huge fees and then say Sorry, the visas were given without a proper scrutiny of the documents, or that the institution which has admitted you does not meet necessary standards,” stuff.co.nz quoted him as saying.
The Indian community in the country has also rallied behind the students who have planned to hold a protest demonstration on Saturday to voice their anger against the action they are facing.
Prakash Biradar, the secretary of the New Zealand Indian Central Association, said because the government has allowed the institutions to recruit students so the government should take responsibility
"If the Government has approved, then it is government's responsibility."
But the New Zealand government has shifted the onus back onto the institutions.
"It's actually the responsibility of the provider to ensure that they know who their agents are and that their agents are acting ethically and legally,"
According to reports, New Zealand has refused nearly half of the total student visa applications from India due to fraud.
These Indian students facing deportation said the fraud was committed by their agent and they were unaware of it.
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