The number of Indian students enrolling in Australian higher-education institutions has decreased almost 50 percent because of security concerns, economic problems, and changes in how Australia awards visas, reports The Times of India. In the 2008-9 academic year, 65,503 Indians were granted Australian student visas and in 2009-10, the number fell to 29,721. In 2009 a series of brutal attacks against Indian students took place at Australian higher-education institutions. Australia’s government is also investigating vocational-education institutes popular with Indian students and recently made it more difficult for foreign students to stay in the country after graduation. Such moves have prompted concern from student groups that represent non-Australians.