The federal government yesterday released the 2019 Financial Report for Higher Education Providers, which revealed that Australia’s universities earned over $10 billion in fees from international students in 2019 – a record 27% of their revenue:
The report also debunks the claim that the federal government has continually cut funding to universities:
That is, despite public funding growth flattening in recent years, this century has seen big increases in both public and private income for universities.
Obviously, border restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic will see international student fee revenue crash in 2020, given applications to study in Australia’ have collapsed by 80%, according to the Department of Home Affairs:
However, Australian universities’ addiction to international students should never have been allowed to reach such absurd levels, with enrolment concentrations roughly 2.5 times that of the UK and triple Canada’s:
The rabid pursuit of international student dollars by our universities eroded both pedagogical standards and free speech
It’s time Australia’s universities returned to their prime purpose of educating Australians, not acting as back door migration agents earning fat fees from people seeking to permanently live and work in Australia.
