In what some agents say is something completely new, the department of immigration has apparently started refusing student visa applications of Indian students who have completed Class XII from schools affiliated to the Punjab School Education Board.
According to a report in the Times of India, in a rejection letter sent to an Indian student who had applied for a “vocational education and training sector (subclass 572) visa”, the department’s refusal letter stated that “education and examinations conducted through the PSEB are not listed as equivalent to an Australian Grade 12 qualification under the Australian Education International – National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition Guidelines (AEI-NOOSR)”.
Speaking to the newspaper, an education agent said that “Citing this reason is completely new…There have been several rejections on this ground in the last couple of days.”
Punjab to take up visa controversy with MEA
Punjab Education Department has taken serious note of the reports originating in certain quarters that the students who have passed 10+2 examination from the Punjab School Education Board would not be issued visas to study in Australia from now onwards.
State Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema on Sunday convened a meeting of senior functionaries of the Department and discussed the issue with them in great detail. The Department decided to immediately take-up the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Human Resource Development.
Cheema told the newspaper that, “PSEB is one of the best boards in the country. Till date, thousands of students who have passed from PSEB are studying in different parts of the world and excelling in their respective fields. The board is strictly following the National Curriculum Framework – 2005 and is a member of the Council of Board of Secondary Education (COBSE).”
The PSEB is a statutory authority that governs almost every aspect and stage of school education in Punjab.
Mr Cheema said that any student facing difficulties in obtaining recognition of their PSEB studies when applying for an overseas visa should notify the PSEB so that the matter “could be further raised to the highest level at the earliest.”