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Our youth have to be serious about their future rather than looking for easy ways to get out of the country. They need to brush up their English language skills, feels Sonya Singh, managing director of Sonya International Education Centre (SIEC) in a freewheeling interview with R M S Atwal.

Singh is one of the few women education consultants who have made a mark for herself during the last 18 years of her immigration consultancy career.

Excerpts from an e-mail interview with Sonya Singh from Melbourne, Australia in which she talks about what visa restrictions, 'confident crisis' among Indian students going abroad for studies, role played by dodgy immigration agents in Punjab and the characteristics needed to succeed while studying abroad:

How do you see the present study abroad scenario in the light of strict visa regulations by almost all the top countries?

I think strict visa regulations will help address a number of issues in the market. This shake-up though painful was required to control unscrupulous agents, students and colleges from functioning. In the name of international education, visa sweatshops had opened all over different countries where genuine students were not the issue but just revenue was the bottom line.

So, I feel that the study abroad scenario will have to become more quality-conscious and will have to lift the game to recruit only genuine student. Short-term players will be out of the market sooner than later.

R M S Atwal can be reached at rajatwal55@yahoo.com

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Don't you think there is a 'confident crisis' among Indian students because of some dodgy agents in Punjab and elsewhere?

I think the students are still very well informed if they are genuine students. A genuine student does not go to a dodgy agent and uses her/his extended network of friends and social networking to do research. That student is still very confident, but yes the student who used the student visa escape route to get out of the country without any real plan to study has taken a beating.

Dodgy agents and students have spoilt the market in Punjab and elsewhere but the good ones will prevail and help bring credibility back.

Immigration agents are a 'much-maligned' community in India. What do you have to say in defence?

Using an immigration agent is not a one-way transaction and there are different kinds of agents. Good, reputable ones do not have to defend themselves and the dodgy ones can keep defending themselves but can never get credibility.

The kind of agent a client/student uses says a lot about her/him too. Again, it is about choices you make and if a client/student has not done any reference checks about an agency, then the blame lies with the client/student equally for being duped.

I think always alleging that poor innocent people are being duped, one should question these clients/students on their motive to go to an unscrupulous agent and paying huge fees for services. What are they trying to cover up is the question.

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You are one of the few women education consultants. How do you see it as a career option for the youth in the Punjab region?

The youth in Punjab, first of all, have to take themselves seriously and plan for their future seriously rather than looking for easy ways to get out of their country. If they get their English language skills upgraded and prepare themselves seriously a year in advance to go overseas, they would have a much better success rate in getting admissions to good colleges, getting visas and succeeding in the country of their choice.

The world needs good, trained young people who are hard working and doesn't abuse the system and that is what the Punjabi youth will have to prepare themselves for. If they do that they have a bright future but if they continue looking for shortcuts there is no success in the short-term or long-term.

Don't you think there should be a self-regulatory or a government body to protect the interests of consultants and students?

There are such bodies that are in existence but individuals will still find a way to find loopholes in the system. I think clients and students should research about the consultant extensively before making a choice. It is their money; their future that is at stake. You go to a market to buy the smallest thing and check for quality and prices, why would you not do the same for your future and not depend on the government to safeguard your interests?

The government is also run by people who may or may not be honest. So what is to stop the unethical agencies to bribe them too? So, my vote still is for individual responsibility and fact-finding before you sign up with an agency.

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Your company mainly represents Australia.  How long will it take to bounce back completely?

The quality of good education, lifestyle and opportunities still exist in Australia. Indian students who have come and studied here and immigrants who have come here and succeeded are the biggest brand ambassadors for Australia. It is unfortunate that since 2008 the image has suffered because of bad publicity but I strongly feel that once there is clearer policy on student visas and outcomes Australia would bounce back immediately.

The universities and various government bodies are pushing for those policies and we may see results soon. Having said that, I think 2011 should be a much better year than the previous two years because queries for Australia in our offices are still strong.

Any message for would-be study abroad students?

As I mentioned earlier, students should not take the route of studying abroad as an escape route without a plan in place. They should assess their skills carefully, check out the gaps in education and language skills and address them before applying overseas.

Once that is done and they have their short-term and long-term goals in place, they can succeed anywhere in the world if they are hard working and intelligence. Students just need more individual guidance and planning from the right sources rather than following his friends without thinking.