Australia's Government Policies Deter International Students, Claim Universities
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Canberra, Dec 19 (NationPress) Australia's leading universities have voiced concerns that the government is making the nation less appealing to international students after a recent decision to restrict enrolments.
On Thursday, Federal Minister for Education Jason Clare unveiled a plan to replace the previously proposed international student cap with a slower visa processing system once applications reach a specific limit for each university.
The initial cap aimed to restrict new international student enrolments at universities and vocational education establishments to a maximum of 270,000 by 2025 as part of a larger initiative to reduce Australia's overall migrant intake. However, parliamentary opposition blocked the cap's legislation.
Instead, Clare introduced a new ministerial guideline that prioritizes student visa applications until they reach 80 percent of the caps. Once this threshold is reached, applications will be processed at a standard pace, resulting in delays.
The Group of Eight (Go8), a coalition of prestigious, research-focused universities, expressed that this new system may create additional confusion for international students.
Go8 Chief Executive Vicki Thomson stated, "We could confuse the international student market with these ongoing policy alterations," as reported by the Xinhua news agency.
"For numerous prospective students, it portrays Australia as a difficult and unwelcoming choice for higher education," she added.
Universities Australia, which represents all universities nationwide, warned in August that the proposed international student cap could lead to economic losses amounting to billions of dollars and thousands of job cuts in higher education.
The Australian National University (ANU) announced in October that it needs to reduce operational expenses by 250 million Australian dollars (about 155.9 million U.S. dollars) over the next 15 months, primarily through job reductions and salary cuts.
The university attributed its financial difficulties to alterations in government policy and the management of international student enrolment numbers.
