Indian News Queensland | CORONA CRISIS
Support comes from FICQ amid student crisis
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ith Federation of Indian Communities of Queensland (FICQ) jointly working with other community and member organisations, a platform was provided to connect with and get support for the international students from India during COVID-19 crisis. After much brainstorming and sharing of ideas, strategies were formed to best support them, and one of the basic practical ways thought of was providing food and groceries. Several restaurants voluntarily are taking care of food requirement, and FICQ came up with another solution of providing packages of necessary groceries so the students can cook what they like and need as per their convenient timings. This idea was supported and executed by each and every member of FICQ, under the leadership of President Mr Shyam Das. To enable efficient and prompt delivery of groceries packages to stu-
dents in QLD, a sign-up form was created on FICQ Facebook page. This centralised initiative was to collect details of affected students and provide help where needed. The sign up form was generated by Mr Preetham Krishna and was successfully attached to the Facebook page. This form is more of a centralised platform where affected students from all over Queensland can get the groceries supplies from FICQ. The details collected in the form are organised and individuals contacted and verified. Mr Preetham Krishna took the responsibility of contacting these students and verifying their status. Once all the details were verified, immediate dispatch of packages were made to people in urgent need. Where needed, these packages were handed over by many volunteers, including Preetham Krishna.
“This whole crisis situation has impacted each and everyone’s life. International students, living away from the family, have been hit really hard and some of the issues are
tragic,” FICQ President Mr Shyam Das said. “Though we cannot solve all the issues right at the time, maximum efforts have been made through FICQ and its members in helping the students and reducing their burden to some extent. Emotionally, this has been one of the worst times everyone is facing, and providing support and helping others is the need of the hour,” he added. Thanking various people and organisations for promptly jumping in and helping out the students, Mr Das said, “FICQ is very thankful to the member organisations like Gujrati Associations of Qld, Brisbane Maharashtra Mandal and Punjabi Welfare Associations for financial support as well as the donors, the High Commission of India, Dr Maha Sinnathamby, who is the longstanding patron of FICQ, Senator Paul Scarr and Dr Ashim Majumdar.” Preetham Krishna
Aussie universities hit by COVID-19, pressure mounts on intnl students
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ustralia’s universities were mulling ways on how to resume faceto-face classes during the COVID-19 crisis, while pressure mounts on international students who remain outside the country due to border shutdown. The economic cost of the crisis to the country’s universities, heavily dependent on international students, could amount to A$4.6 billion ($3.01 billion) over the next six months as a result of the border closure. “On this basis, an estimated 21,290 full time equivalent staff will lose their jobs in the next six months,” Catriona Jackson, chief executive of Universities Australia (UA), an organization representing the country’s 39 universities, told Efe news on May 26. International students contributed some A$37.6 billion to the Australian economy in 201819, making education the fourth largest export in the country, after coal, iron and natural gas. However, the pandemic has forced international students, who pay up to A$33,000 for their studies, to cancel their plans to study there and return to their home countries due to lack of employment and subsidies in Australia. Meanwhile, the country plans to
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resume economic activities in July after controlling the coronavirus. Currently, it is estimated that 10 per cent of the affected students still cannot enter Australia, although Jackson stressed that it does not mean that they have traded Australia for other options. “There is no evidence to suggest that international students will choose to undertake their studies elsewhere as a result of COVID-19. Australia is seen as a safe, welcoming destination which has responded effectively to the pandemic,” she said. Many Australian universities have urged the government to allow international students, who account for a third of the 1.5 million students in the country, to return. Meanwhile, with an eye on the next academic session, the “universities are now working closely with government and health authorities on the carefully staged return to face-to-face learning”, said Jackson. The pandemic has also dealt a severe blow to a lot of researches at universities, which account for 90 per cent of research in Australia, as a large part of them has been cancelled and their funds diverted for tackling the novel coronavirus. The cut in employment in universities will affect some 7,000 people linked to academic research
Graduates are seen at the campus of University of Sydney, Australia, on June 5, 2019 (IANS) and 9,000 international students who will interrupt their research this year, according to a recent study coordinated by the govern-
ment’s chief scientist, Alan Finkel. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on May 26
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that vocational training for skilled workers will be his government’s priority to train young people for the jobs they are looking to create.
JUNE 2020
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