STUDENTS
POLICY & LOBBYING
No end in sight for Australia's
international student crisis With the Federal Government making clear that international students will not be returning to Australia to study on shore any time soon, the one thing the sector is sure of is there will be more losses – both financially and in jobs. The most recent information is that other countries, most notably Canada, the USA and the UK are positioning themselves to step in to the gap left by Australia.
Terri MacDonald Policy & Research Officer
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With the political focus on repatriating Australian citizens and residents, international education looks set to continue as primarily an off-shore, online experience. The question is, how are international students responding? Is it a case of everything will be fine, as the Federal Government would have the public believe? Or is this likely to see a fundamental change to Australia’s higher education market – which could see a flow on to the higher education sector more broadly? While much attention – most rightly – has been focused on the desperate plight of international students left stranded in Australia with no support or even interest from the Federal Government, COVID-related closures also affected off shore students. Recent media coverage of international students protesting for
Sentry
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FEBRUARY 2021
the right to come back to Australia to complete their courses highlighted the situation that many international students found themselves in as a result of the closure of our international borders. Clearly, many of those who either returned home, or where not able to get into Australia before the borders closed last year, want to resume their studies in the country. They argue that they have lives here and are part of the community, and many were on track for residency. There are also problems around studying online, with complaints that online learning has not delivered the education experience that many of these international students were looking for. While some universities are now offering reductions on course fees for off shore international students studying online, many are not – although a number are offering other forms of incentives. The question is, have these issues had an impact on the attitudes of international students – both current and prospective – to studying in Australia? One thing is for sure though – we have more students leaving, than coming in – and that is a problem.
