Counselling helps Indian students

An Indian Newslink report (March 15, 2010) had suggested that some “unwanted behaviour issues” were on the rise among some Indian students in India.

Although this is only a small group of people, it affects the image of all Indian students in the country. Even with the reported numbers, they are lower in proportion to other groups.

It is the responsibility of good students (who are in majority) to educate the so-called troublemakers. Social interaction and positive engagement direct energy and enthusiasm inherent in the youth to constructive projects that help them foster their natural abilities.

Students from India are the third largest group of international students in New Zealand after China and Korea. The number of Indian students has increased by 300% over the past four years. Immigration New Zealand, considering the potential in this market as an economic source and human capital, has shifted processing of student visa applications to its Bangkok and Palmerston North offices. The move was designed to shorten the time taken to process applications and attract more students from India.

New Zealand continues to be a safe destination for international students and there are no threats to students (from India in particular), unlike the recent unfortunate incidents in Australia.

According to a recent UMR research, the extent of discrimination faced by international students in New Zealand has considerably increased, leading the Human Rights Commission to express concern. One would imagine that these students would agitate and retaliate, but Police figures indicate that serious crime involving international students has declined sharply. While fights, burglaries and kidnapping were a weekly occurrence five years ago, there has been no serious crime involving international students reported so far in 2010.

This decline can be attributed to the increasing number of community and social groups that interact with international students.

The New Zealand Hindu Students Forum (NZHSF) is one such group, comprising students from India, Fiji, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Maldives, Trinidad and other parts of the world. It enables students to understand the local culture and introduces them to friends from similar backgrounds.

Education on New Zealand law and rights of students has helped them settle successfully.

Understanding from both parties on the differences and challenges has made international students feel that they are welcome and accepted in this country.

Community help and support is always more effective than authoritarian approach.

The social pressure of being away from home in a new culture is immense and local support is essential to ensure they stay true to their values and achieve their scholastic goal. Being alone results in attention-seeking behaviour; however the support of a positive-minded group like NZHSF helps them reach their optimum ability.

The Forum introduces students to a network of students not only at universities and tertiary institutions but also with students around the country. It aims to establish its presence in all New Zealand educational institutions to help new international student arrivals.

Nitika Sharma is spokesperson of the New Zealand Hindu Students Forum based in Auckland. Email:

hindustudents.nz@gmail.com

Read our editorial, Indian students welcome, but... .  We wish to clarify that some of the quotes were wrongly attributed to Jessica Phuang in our March 15 issue report (Indian students invite trouble in Auckland).