Socialist Aotearoa

Videos By Bharti and Anu Kaloti

In the past few days the Indian media in New Zealand has proudly reported that Pranab Mukherjee will be the first Indian President to visit this country. During his short visit from 30 April to 2 May the President will, among other events, address the students at Auckland University of Technology’s (AUT) Business School and meet with Indian business and community leaders. What does the Indian President’s visit have in common with the title of this article? The same media articles have also reported that 23000 Indian students studied in New Zealand last year alone. While it sounds very impressive for a country like New Zealand to educate and provide skills to international Indian students, we need to unravel the situation to uncover the actual facts. The serial exploitation of Indian students begins long before they set foot on New Zealand soil. The process of course selection, education provider selection and visa applications is mostly conducted through agents in India. The leg