International students have been left stunned by a frenetic week of Government action and are puzzled by policy and warnings that they threaten the sector’s social licence.
Just one week after releasing the and new draft Framework for international education and skills the government has introduced legislation to establish caps on international students and is trying to talk up its tough-on-migration credentials by slashing the international student intake while also maintaining that it values their contribution to the HE system.
Both major parties have taken turns to emphasise their focus on reducing immigration by cutting international student numbers. New legislation introduced by Jason Clare yesterday stated that universities which exceed their international enrolment caps will be banned from enrolling students the following year and Coalition leader Peter Dutton has pledged to be even tougher slashing net migration well below Labour’s benchmark.
The Government’s Framework thumped home the message that the Australian community’s willingness to accept international students was in jeopardy, stating eight times through the draft report that the sector’s social licence was under threat.
The President of the University of Melbourne’s International Student Association, Australia’s largest International student group, Richard Ha told Future Campus that many international students were worried by the changes – and the messaging.
“The Government’s legislation seems to be out of the blue. It is supposed to address the rental crisis and reduce the threat of international students taking jobs away from Australian graduates, but I don’t see any evidence of either of those issues,” Mr Ha said.
“As an international student, it is really difficult to find any job, and the statistics show that more than 80% of international students go back home after graduation anyway.
“It feels like they are trying to scapegoat or push the blame onto international students, whereas the contribution of international students to these issues is negligible.”
The peak body which previously represented international students in Australia, the Council for International Students Australia (CISA) appears dormant, with its web presence offline, international student leaders at Australian universities have struggled to be heard in a week of huge changes in international education.
The Federal Bill will enable the Minister to control international student numbers for individual courses, institutions and locations.
The Government also seeks to align international student enrolments with Australian workforce need. However Mr Ha said this policy direction was flawed.
“International students choose to study in particular disciplines that universities are known to be strong in, and more than 80% of graduates return to their home country, to use their qualification there,” Mr Ha said.
“We are already paying insanely high fees to study in Australia, if we can’t get into the courses we choose, then a lot of students will look at alternatives in other countries.
“If the government wants to turn universities into a fish and chip shop forever, without any diversity in the classroom, they are headed in the right direction.”
UTS International Students’ Officer Raghav Motani said students were supportive of moves to clamp down on dodgy colleges and unscrupulous agents, but said international students were being unfairly blamed for Australia’s housing woes.
“International students are being blamed for Australia’s rental crisis but the evidence shows housing crisis is not because of international students, we are only 4% of the rental market,” Mr Motani said.
