Whilst the students are pleading innocence, Hon Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, an MP in the New Zealand parliament, told SBS Punjabi program that "Only 41 of the 150 Indian students facing deportation have an issue with the authenticity of their documents. All others have either overstayed their visa in New Zealand, or have been convicted of a crime".
There are currently 30,000 Indian international students studying in New Zealand, a number that has increased three-fold over the last few years. The increase in their numbers is attributed to the relaxation in English requirements for prospective students in 2013, when private institutions were given the right to interview students to assess their English speaking ability. The rules were later tightened in 2015, which saw a sharp decrease in enrolments from India.
Earlier this year, it was reported that 10,000 applications (more than half of those made by Indian international students) were rejected outright by the New Zealand authorities. It has also been reported that many students have been grossly underpaid - earning as little as $4 per hour, which tantamounts to exploitation.
And the latest development is that 150 Indians students stand to be deported, because allegedly, their applications were approved based on false documents.
Many students have protested their innocence, saying their agent in India added the "fake documentation" without their knowledge. The Indian High Commissioner as well as a newly formed political party have taken up the students' cause as well, requesting the New Zealand government to spare them from deportation.
Speaking to SBS Punjabi program, MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi stated that only 41 of the 150 students facing deportation are caught up in false documentation cases - the rest are either being deported because they have overstayed their legal visa or because of criminal convictions.
Mr Bakshi said, he finds it very hard to believe that adult students could have submitted an application and signed it off, without being aware of the documents attached. He added, "Whilst I have full sympathy for the genuine students who maybe victims of fraud, but what about those who wilfully lied in their applications?"
Mr Bakshi defended the actions of the NZ government, saying private institutions betrayed the trust reposed in them, by accepting students with poor English skills. "These students have gone on to be exploited by employers and the government will not tolerate underpayment of wages to those in the workforce". Mr Bakshi added, that the government has introduced strict measures on July 1, to penalise private institutions that have abused the government's rules in the education sector.
Talking about the 150 Indian students who face imminent deportation, Mr Bakshi assured them, that the government will be fair to them.
"Whilst I don't want to give anyone false hopes, but the students can appeal to the Immigration Minister, and put forth their case".
Whilst he assured the students, that there would be a free and fair investigation into the entire matter, but if they are found complicit in the fake documentation, then deportation may be the only logical answer.
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