31 Jul 2009, 0346 hrs IST

NRI News: Top Australian educationists are expecting a "big slide" in enrollment of Indian students following recent wide media coverage of racial assaults and migration scams.

Melbourne University vice-chancellor Glyn Davis said that there were early indications of a dramatic fall in the applications from Indians. The university is considered to be one of the top educational institutions in the country.

"We'll know in the next couple of weeks what it means, but I'm anticipating a quite sharp fall in the number of Indian students who elect to come to Australia," Davis told ABC radio.

Similar sentiments were voiced by top officials of RMIT and Victoria University, who reported early signs of a drop in demand and both attributed the slip to adverse reporting about students' safety Down Under.

However, early reports of a decrease are not supported by official data and student visa applications, which both show growth to June, according to 'The Age' report that on contrary reported decline in applications.

Davis said a reduction in Indian students was a "great loss" for Australia.

"Many of them do choose to stay and contribute to our nation after they graduate, so to lose that cohort is really distressing. To lose it because of such unscrupulous behaviour as is being reported would be particularly tragic," he said.