In August last year, Professor Salvatore Babones released alarming research showing that Australia has by far the highest concentration of international students in the developed world, with around two-and-a-half times the concentration of second-placed United Kingdom and around three times the concentration of third-placed Canada: Since that report was released, the concentration of international students
Over the past three years Australia has experienced an alarming rise in Nepalese international students. As shown in the next chart, which plots data from the Department of Education, Nepalese student enrolments ballooned by 212% in the three years to October 2019, growing from 21,000 to 65,700: This extreme enrolment growth has seen Nepal become
The Department of Education’s latest international student statistics, which are current to October 2019, shows a continued expansion in international student enrolments across Australia’s educational institutions. There were 918,000 international students enrolled across Australia as at October 2019, an increase of 9.8% from the same time in 2018 and up an extraordinary 83% since 2013:
Chen Hong – professor and director of Australian Studies Center, East China Normal University – has written a stern article in the Global Times (the Chinese Communist Party’s nationalistic tabloid) attacking delays in visa processing times for Chinese students and warning Australia that any “significant decline in Chinese students would indeed bring about economic calamity”:
In 2019, India emerged as Australia’s prime international student growth market. As shown in the next chart, whose data comes from the Department of Education, new student enrolments from India surged by 35% in 2019, from 44,900 to 60,700: While China still remained Australia’s biggest source of international students, new enrolments from China actually declined
There has been a long and sordid history of international students cheating at Australia’s universities, often to get around having insufficient English-language proficiency to complete their studies. For example, “functionally illiterate” Chinese international students were embroiled in a widespread contract cheating racket in 2014, which was documented in detail here and here. The next year,
Swinburne University’s China expert, John Fitzgerald, has called on universities across the Western World to shun the Chinese-run Academic Ranking of World Universities, in order to defend the principles of free speech and expression, which is under threat by the Chinese Communist Party: “Universities that value institutional autonomy and freedom of inquiry should no longer
Earlier this week, Murdoch University announced that it had abandoned the financial component of its law suit against Dr Gerd Schroeder-Turk for appearing on ABC’s Four Corners last year and criticising Murdoch’s international student entry and teaching standards: Murdoch issued a statement to all staff on Monday saying it was “withdrawing the financial component of
Last year, the Department of Home Affairs deemed student visa applications from India as “high-risk”, thereby requiring applicants to demonstrate higher English-language proficiency as well as prove greater capacity to support themselves financially once arrived in Australia. These changes came amid an explosion in student visa applications from India, alongside a surge in visa rejections
Last month we reported that whistle-blowing academic, Dr Gerd Schroeder-Turk, was facing possible financial ruin after criticising Murdoch University’s admission standards and raising ethical concerns on Four Corners’ Cash Cows report in May 2019. Dr Gerd Schroeder-Turk is being accused by Murdoch University of causing a sharp drop in international student enrolments, thus costing the
In recent years, Nepal has emerged as Australia’s third largest source market for international students. As shown in the next chart, the number of Nepalese students enrolled across Australian international education institutions ballooned from just under 12,000 in 2013 to 62,000 currently: Over the same time period, ‘exports’ from Nepalese international students – comprising both
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its International Trade: Supplementary Information, Financial Year, 2018-19 report, which includes interesting data on Australia’s booming international student trade. According to the ABS, total education ‘exports’ soared by $5.0 billion in 2018-19 to a record high $37.3 billion (see next chart). Expenditure on goods and services by international
As it currently stands, India is Australia’s second biggest market for international students, trailing far behind first placed China. As at August 2019, there were 240,000 Chinese nationals enrolled to study in Australia, almost double the 126,000 Indian nationals enrolled (see next chart). The imbalance is even greater with respect to ‘exports’ from international students
Murdoch University is reportedly persisting with its massive lawsuit against academic Dr Gerd Schroeder-Turk, who has been accused of losing the University millions of dollars of lost fees from international students after criticising admission standards and raising ethical concerns on Four Corners’ Cash Cows report in May: The university is suing associate professor Gerd Schroder-Turk
The systemic exploitation of international students is endemic across the Australian economy. For years we have read countless reports of wage theft from international students, particularly from migrants employers from the same nationality. For example, the 2016 Senate Committee report, entitled A National Disgrace: The Exploitation of Temporary Work Visa Holders, claimed international students “were
Earlier this year, it was reported that Chinese international students were being coaxed into sex work with promises of “easy money”: Chinese job website and forum yeeyi.com is hosting hundreds of adverts for jobs in massage parlours across Melbourne, including Dandenong, Casey, Kingston and Stonnington, promising thousands of dollars a week to students… One job
The latest data from the Department of Education revealed a massive boom in Chinese international student enrolments, whose numbers have roughly doubled over the past six years to 240,000: One nasty side-effect of this boom has been the surge in contract cheating services, as revealed in several reports over many years. For instance, “functionally illiterate“
Over the past five years, Indian international student enrolments across Australia’s educational institutions has skyrocketed by 138% to 126,000 as at August 2019: The number of Indian student visa applications granted has also soared by 125% over the past three years alone, signalling a further lift in enrolments: This explosion in Indian student enrolments is
Another report has emerged on how private ghost colleges providing fake diplomas are targeting international students from India: In the recent past, Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector has been rocked with scandals that in worst cases have led to arrests, fraud and have unearthed the reality of ‘ghost colleges’ exploiting vulnerable international students.
Australia’s Education Minister, Dan Tehan, issued a media release spruiking that Australia’s education ‘exports’ surged by $5 billion in 2018-19 to a record high $37.6 billion: International education contributed $37.6 billion to the Australian economy last financial year, which was a $5 billion increase. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released yesterday found the economic contribution
In late September, it was revealed that Dr Gerd Schroeder-Turk – one of the three whistle-blowing academics that appeared on Four Corners’ Cash Cows report into Australia’s international student industry – was being sued by Murdoch University for damaging the institution’s reputation and causing a fall in international student enrolments. This led to a strong
According to The Australian’s Higher Education Editor, Tim Dodd, Australia’s Group of Eight (Go8) universities have averted a decline in Chinese international students: The latest enrolment figures show that in the first nine months of this year the influx of Chinese students commencing courses was 9 per cent higher for the Group of Eight universities
A new study by Vietnam-based consultancy Cturtle found that the return on investment for international students studying at Australian and other Western universities is far less than if they had studied at an Asian offshore campus: It found that seven to 11 years after graduation, offshore campus graduates were earning $US4721 compared with $US3632 for
The Morrison Government’s regional visa incentives, which provides five extra points towards permanent residency and allows international students to stay for up to seven years, has driven a surge in enrolments into Tasmania and South Australia: Data from the International Education Association of Australia shows that student commencements in Tasmania were up by 35 per
A superficial glance at Australia’s international student numbers reveals an industry in rude health. The number of international student visa applications granted – a leading indicator for new enrolments – hit an all-time high 406,000 in the year to June 2019: The number of new international student enrolments at Australia’s education institutions also hit a
May’s Four Corners “cash cows” report on Australia’s international student industry showed that universities have eroded both entry and teaching standards to entice huge volumes of lower-quality, full fee-paying international 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.”
The latest Australian Government data on international students reveals a massive shift from China, where enrolments are now falling, towards India and Nepal. Applications for student visas are the best leading indicator for actual international student enrolments. According to the Department of Home Affairs, student visas granted to Indians and Nepalese surged by 34% and
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released visitor arrivals and departures statistics for the month of September, which reveals that immigration into Australia continues to run wild. In the year to September 2019, there were a near record 847,010 permanent and long-term arrivals into Australia, up 3% from September 2018. This was only partly
Around a year ago, it became apparent that the six-year boom in Chinese international student enrolments was coming to an end. Insiders were reporting a slump in visa applications from Chinese students. This was subsequently confirmed by the Department of Home Affairs, which posted a 3.3% decline in student visa applications from China in the
Earlier this week, ABC’s 730 Report uncovered an elaborate multi-million dollar fraud by a syndicate of Indian migrants that ran dodgy ‘ghost colleges’ providing fake diplomas to fake students: Bobby Singh was the owner of private college St Stephen Institute of Technology. Mr Singh ran it as a “ghost college” as part of a multi-million-dollar
