After it was revealed on Wednesday that the Victorian Government is seeking to lift the cap on international students studying at Victorian public schools, from 5,750 currently, the CEO of the lobby group International Education Association of Australia, Phil Honeywood, also demanded that the cap be “dramatically lifted”:
International Education Association of Australia chief executive Phil Honeywood called for the cap to be dramatically lifted and accused the Andrews government of letting Victoria’s “number one industry down”.
“Other state governments are actively looking to enhance their market share. Victoria is sending out a message that we are now closed for business,” he said.
As I noted yesterday, a 2017 report from the Victorian Auditor General estimated that the state needed an additional 50 new schools by 2021 to cope with an estimated 90,000 surge in domestic students:
The same Auditor General report also warned that “school maintenance continues to be underfunded and is at levels below industry standards”.
Estimates from the Grattan Institute are even more alarming, claiming Victoria needs 220 new schools in the decade to 2026 merely to keep pace with projected student enrolments:
Therefore, with Victoria’s schools already bursting at the seams – a situation that is projected to worsen – it makes no sense to exacerbate the problem by importing thousands more international students.
As noted by Monash University senior lecturer, David Zyngier, the motive behind this policy is clear:
[It’s] “quite clearly about the money” brought in by international students…
“They’re looking to gain entry to universities here because they know they’ll get permanent residency and then go on to buy property here,” he said.
But at what cost? In addition to displacing locals from their school of choice due to overcrowding, international students risk diminishing teaching quality as teachers are forced to pause to explain concepts to non-English speakers, and come under pressure to cater to these students at the expense of locals, as has happened at our universities.
Thankfully, ABC’s Four Corners is on the case and will on Monday investigate how “Australia’s higher education system is being undermined by a growing reliance on foreign fee-paying students”:
The universities making billions out of foreign students.
“In terms of attracting international students, universities will do whatever they need to do…they are the cash cows. There is no doubt about it.” Academic…
Academics and students are speaking out to reveal a picture, across the nation, of compromised academic standards.
“Many students seemed to be unable to understand instructions or understand the material that was put in front of them.” Academic
“I would do my best to make sure that the team would understand the topic each week, and then I would get them to send to me what they had written, and I would try and rephrase it into more readable English.” Student
Domestic students aren’t the only ones feeling frustrated. Some international students, who have often sacrificed everything to be here, are not getting the education they have been promised.
“For a great many international students, their entire family’s financial future is invested in succeeding in their education. And when they’re under pressure, failure is just not an option for them.” Union leader
Teaching staff say that universities are risking their reputations by taking on students who are not capable of advanced levels of learning.
“Admitting students who don’t have the right qualifications, or right prerequisites, or correct language capabilities is setting them up for failure. This is just not what a university should do. That’s not what education is about.” Academic
Insiders warn that with international student numbers continuing to grow, the problem needs to be tackled urgently.
“I think it’s a train wreck. I think it’s, it’s coming and it’s coming hard and the incoming government’s going to have to deal with (it).” Private education consultant
Hopefully the segment will be explosive enough to necessitate a warts-and-all review by someone like the Productivity Commission. But I am not hopeful. In 2015, Four Corners aired a report entitled “Degrees of Deception”, which uncovered that cheating and plagiarism was rife across Australia’s universities, driven by international students.
Nothing happened and the international student scam has been allowed to balloon to current epic proportions; so much so that Australia’s universities are becoming dominated by international students:
It’s time to take stock and figure out the true costs and benefits of this trade.
