In order for Australia’s education system ‐ both formal & informal – as well of course its higher education enterprise ‒to continue strong on an ongoing basis it must ensure that existing structures do not be affected by current competition or loss of investment in new facilities like universities. The Department continues efforts under this work across multiple aspects including improving access to tertiary institutions; ensuring there is an adequate supply of students attending Australian degree programs within acceptable timetables; building capacity at postgraduate qualification sites where schools are being built up through direct funding support from the government; providing further tools towards increasing enrollment opportunities
We need to take responsibility and act fast in order to ensure that we don’t lose our future workforce. For a start, we need to incentivize international students so that they will apply to study at Australian universities. We also need to make sure that these students are aware of the many opportunities available and they have the support they need while studying in Australia.
Owing to the Coronavirus pandemic, Australia has closed its borders for 18 months now. This is not allowing international students to return for their studies. Most of the students have started their courses online and it’s definitely not what they had wished for. They are concern about their payment of a hefty amount for studying in Australia to do our master’s and PhD.
The Protest by Australia education visa holder
Before applying, there was no caution or warning given to the students by the universities or the Government. There was no such information like the Government would not be able to open the borders before a certain date. Last week, students decided to start an online campaign on Twitter using some hashtags like #LetUsBacktoAus. On 6 May, in response to student protests, Australia’s High Commissioner to India Barry O’Farrell AO had said that students will be ‘welcomed back when conditions allow’.
The campaign is aimed at the Government, to try and convince them to rethink their visa restrictions and allow international students back into Australia.
This campaign was started by few international students in Melbourne who are all affected by the new visa regulations. The new regulations will prevent international students from staying in Australia for three months once they have finished their studies. And this will also affect those who are studying at short courses or internships.
The campaign is currently being used as a way for these students to voice their concerns & opinions on the matter. They believe is affecting a large number of people. It has also helped them find other people
Looking at the situation the country’s universities have commenced a campaign to push state and federal governments to loosen restrictions. The New South Wales government approved a plan to fly in international students and quarantine them at universities from August, likely to be paid out by the universities themselves. At the same time, Education Minister Alan Tudge says he is “increasingly hopeful” international students will start coming back in volume by the first semester of 2022.
The Criticism
USDY’s push comes amid similar calls from Universities Australia. CEO Catriona Jackson who this week claimed universities would lose another $2 billion in 2021 unless something changed. “Australia’s university sector cannot sustain these losses without serious damage to national productivity and the country’s knowledge base,” she said.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said on Thursday that 250 international students holding Australia education visa would be able to come to Sydney each fortnight. They will spend their quarantine period in purpose-built student accommodation. The arrival of students will be in addition to the returning Australians arriving at Sydney Airport amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Outcome
The plan, which has been endorsed by NSW Health & NSW Police, has been submitted to the federal government for review. Mr Perrottet said the NSW education sector was worth $14.6 billion in 2019 and supported more than 95,000 local jobs. More than 250,000 international students typically study in NSW each year. ‘If we don’t act fast, students will turn to other overseas destinations and it could take the sector decades to recover,’ said in a statement.
Mr Perrottet said the students would be subject to exactly the same quarantine standards as returning Australians held in hotels. Under the plan, NSW Health will triage arriving students and direct them to quarantine at approved student accommodation sites. One such site has already been chosen, with more to come. Mr Perrottet said the overall impact of closed international borders for NSW is as high as $1.5 billion per month, slowing economic growth. This is about finding a way to bring students back but not at the expense of the weekly cap of Australian citizens arriving back in NSW. If we don’t address this issue then I believe we’ll have an industry on its knees and one that will look elsewhere.
Dominic Francis Perrottet, an Australian politician, is the New South Wales Treasurer since January 2017
International Education Association of Australia
A 600-bed student accommodation site had already been approved to be converted into quarantine. Under the plan, returning international students would be quarantined in the converted accommodation for 14 days. With arrivals counted under a separate arrival cap to that of returning Australian citizens and other international arrivals. Initially, the plan would aim to bring in a few hundred students for semester two to “prove the model”. The program would use chartered flights rather than taking commercial seats from returning Australians as well as the alternative quarantine setting rather than hotels. “They are only going to start with small numbers to begin with, in the low hundreds, in order to prove the model,” he sa
Phil Honeywood, the chief executive of the International Education Association of Australia, told Guardian Australia
Now more about Study in Australia.