India, Australia to recognise each other’s academic credentials

ISLAMABAD: Australia’s visiting prime minister, Anthony Albanese MP, announced with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, that the two countries have agreed to recognise each other’s academic credentials.

It was also decided that Australian Deakin University will open an overseas campus in the Ghandinagar city state of Gujarat, with admissions likely to begin in 2025. The Australian prime minister also offered Maitri scholarships to Indian students. According to Indian sources, approximately 500,000 Indians live in various cities throughout Australia.

The Australia-India Education Qualification Recognition Mechanism has been finalised. Now Indian degrees will be recognised in Australia and vice versa.

The Australia-India Education Qualification Recognition Mechanism has been finalised, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared on Wednesday night. Plans regarding Australia’s Deakin University establishing a global branch campus at GIFT City in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar were made public.

Albanese said that there has been considerable development in the India-Australia bilateral education partnership. “The new mechanism means that if you are an Indian student who is studying or has studied in Australia, your hard-earned degree will be recognised when you return home,” the PM said. “Or if you are a member of Australia’s very large Indian diaspora — 500,000 and growing — you will feel more confident that your Indian qualification will be recognised in Australia,” he added. The agreement “paves the way for commercial opportunities for Australian education providers to offer innovative and more accessible education to Indian students.“ The Australian PM described it as the “most comprehensive and ambitious agreement” reached by India and any other nation. Albanese added that it gives academic institutions a strong foundation on which to pursue novel collaborations.

In addition, the PM introduced the Maitri Scholarship, a unique opportunity for Indian students to spend up to four years studying abroad in Australia. According to him, the scholarships are a component of the larger Maitri initiative, which aims to strengthen community, educational, and cultural relations between Australia and India.

Addressing the event, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel stated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state has made it its mission to become a national and international education centre. Also, he discussed the sister-city arrangement that Gujarat and Australia signed in 2018, noting that the two countries have long cherished their people-to-people ties. Iain Martin, Vice Chancellor of Deakin University, expressed his anticipation that the GIFT City international campus would start accepting students in 2024.