Some colleges sub-standard: Gillard

(AAP) - The federal government acknowledges some educational institutions are providing "sub-standard" service to foreign students but says the problem isn't widespread.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who is also education minister, says the
government is working to rub out poor practices that have come to the fore of debate
about whether Australia is meeting its obligations to international students.
She'll visit India later this year to discuss the issue, as will Trade Minister
Simon Crean and possibly the prime minister.
Sterling College in Sydney is the latest school to go into voluntary administration,
leaving about 500 students - many from overseas - facing uncertainty and financial
losses.
It follows the reported closure of another college in Melbourne earlier this month.
The federal government is scrambling to deal with the problem of aggrieved foreign
students, who contribute to the $15.5 billion international education sector, the
nation's third biggest export industry.
Ms Gillard is calling for students to take part in a roundtable she'll convene in
Canberra in September.
She admitted there were problems in the sector.
"There are some operators who have caused problems and we want to address that," Ms
Gillard told ABC Radio.
"But I don't accept ... this is a broad brush across all of the international
education industry. It's not. We have high-quality providers, satisfied students.
"Our international education system overall, even in the days of the global
recession, is performing well and holding up well."
Ms Gillard said the government was taking measures including an increase in targeted
audits of operators, to ensure quality and compliance.
The government's also set up an anonymous complaints hotline to handle reports from
students who fear discrimination if they voice their concerns.
"We've already acted to give international students a better voice," Ms Gillard said.
Mr Crean said he wasn't aware of a drop in the number of students coming to
Australia following the outcry over attacks on Indian students and revelations of
sham courses and shabby treatment.
But he'll be visiting India later this year to shore up support nevertheless, as
will Ms Gillard and potentially Kevin Rudd.
"We are absolutely committed to ensure that the brand that is Australian education
is preserved and advanced," Mr Crean told Sky News.
"I'm going there (to India) in September, I think Julia's there in September and
Kevin's trying to get there before the end of the year."
However, the opposition maintains the government isn't doing enough.
Opposition immigration spokeswoman Sharman Stone says Labor has been dazzled by the
cash rolling in from international education but is not game to set the sector
right.
"Not that we've got this problem of major reputation damage and students losing ...
a lot of hard-earned money that their parents have sacrificed to put together," she
said.
"It will take a lot of urgent action now - not just a roundtable, not just a
think-tank - to set it right."
The opposition wants a major review of the sector, including a look at how colleges
are accredited.
"They need to urgently audit all of the colleges, they need to look at the
accommodation and employment experiences of these students," Dr Stone said.
Like the coalition, the Australian Greens don't believe the government is responding
appropriately to the problem.
Greens education spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said the international education
sector deserved a great deal more attention from the government.
"(It) needs more scrutiny, regulation, and government oversight," she said in a
statement.
"These people, most of them young, come to Australia without the support networks of
friends and family, having invested significant sums of money in good faith."