New Delhi: Minister of State for External
Affairs Preneet Kaur today said an advisory has been issued
asking Indian students not to go to Australia, a comment that
led to confusion prompting the Ministry to clarify that she
was referring to an advisory of June last year.
"As you know, we have put out an advisory asking students
to be careful and not to go to Australia for studies for now,"
Kaur told reporters in the morning after arrival of the body
of Ranjodh Singh, a victim of violence in Australia.
The comment led to the impression that the government
had issued a fresh travel advisory asking students to avoid
Australia.
Later in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs
issued a press release clarifying Kaur`s remarks.
It said Kaur "pointed out that an advisory had already
been issued by the Ministry (on June 12, 2009) spelling out
do`s and don?ts for students planning to go to Australia for
further studies.
"The advisory encourages the students to conduct due
diligence and carefully apprise themselves of the ground
realities including suitability of the institution in
question, costs involved and consular procedures."
PTI
