The South Australian Government has again petitioned their Federal Labour colleagues for an exemption from the proposed caps on international student enrolments, as anxiety over the new rules rises across the sector.
The SA Government has called on the Albanese Government to allow SA institutions to be cap free, on the basis of the impact that caps could have on the State’s economy. Peter Malinauskas has been a vocal critic of the cuts over the past month, saying they threaten the economy, AUKUS and universities in his State.
On the weekend Federal Education Minister surprised many by telling Sky News, “A lot of universities have asked for this (international student caps).”
When challenged as to which universities had requested that their ability to freely recruit students be curtailed, the Minister declined to name names, but insisted that his legislation was introduced at the request of universities.
“A lot of universities, in particular the smaller universities, have said to me, “We’d prefer a different system where you set a level or a cap for us each and every year,” and that’s what this legislation does,” Mr Clare said.
Funding for domestic students was capped, so numbers for international students should also be capped, Mr Clare said. Non-CSP domestic places were not discussed in this equation. When asked whether the University of Sydney had too many international students, Mr Clare said if numbers were too high, domestic demand would fall.
“Australian students will choose universities based on whether they think they’re getting value for money if those numbers are too high,” he said.
UAC data tracking domestic demand strength against international enrolments is surely being tacked together to provide a quick study guide to the fundamental drivers of domestic demand for the Department as we speak.
You can read the transcript of the full interview with Sky on Mr Clare’s website. It appears that the international student caps discussion daily risks derailment by misunderstandings about how the sector works. In the meantime, if the VCs who apparently begged for caps can calmly raise their hands.
