One step forward or backward? Australian varsities split on international student cap

The number of international students studying in Australia is 7,17,587 for January-May 2024. There was an 18 percent change compared to the same period last year.

However, after Covid the recent growth in international education has been partly driven by nongenuine students and unscrupulous education providers subverting aspects of the current regulatory and compliance framework, and pandemic-era visa concessions, such as unrestricted working hours for international students, says the report.

With this in mind, the Australian government has now decided to put a cap on the number of international students being welcomed every year. This decision has been appreciated by some universities, while others have condemned it.

Some of the prominent names such as the University of Melbourne has accused the government of not addressing the main issues in the Australian education sector, and rather focusing on aspects that are not perceived as an issue in the public eye. “The University remains strongly opposed to this cap on international student enrolments. It is staggering that we continue to have this debate while there is apparently no serious intent to address really major reform issues. There is no plan concerning abolishing Job Ready Graduates and replacing it with a new system to fund teaching that is fair to students and actually covers the cost to the University of teaching those students. We currently have to subsidise teaching costs,” University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Duncan Maskell said.

He further highlighted the need for reforms for research in higher educational institutes. “There is no plan to reform research funding to address the full economic cost of doing the research on which the nation depends for its future prosperity and place in the world. We currently have to subsidise a large proportion of the cost of research. These are the key issues that should be addressed, not international student numbers,” said Professor Maskell in a public statement.

International students contribute $30 billion to the Australian economy per annum and are country’s fourth largest export. Additionally, student and temporary graduate visa holders also make a significant contribution to the country’s labour market, particularly in retail and hospitality. Further, after New Zealand citizens, international students are the largest component of Australia’s temporary migration system and the single biggest feeder into their permanent programme.

Indian students who are currently pursuing a degree in Australia believe that the decision will make the environment unwelcoming for Indian students.

Indian students in Australia, from 2019 to 20204. (Data source: Indian Government)

“When I came here a year ago, the Australian government was very welcoming because they needed us to be a part of the workforce and we were contributing to their economy in form of tuition fees, daily expenses etc. But now that they have stabilised their post-Covid recovery, are we not welcome anymore? The good thing, however, is that the attitude of locals towards international students has not changed and they are still welcoming towards us,” said a second year Management student from Melbourne.

Some experts, however, believe that the new change will help international students as the current system was turning out to be a little unfair and daunting. “The Government’s current visa processing approach is having a profound and unfair impact on students wishing to enrol at UOW. Its removal and replacement with the Government’s proposed system is fairer and more sustainable and will enable more international students to enrol at UOW in 2025,” said University of Wollongong (UOW) Interim Vice-Chancellor Professor John Dewar AO, in a communique to university staff.

Some stakeholders were also worried if this will have a negative impact on the current aspirants who are in the process of finalising their spot at one of the Australian universities, or have just finalised it. “I have already applied to a few Australian universities for the next academic year and even though I was not planning to apply anywhere else, I am now thinking of applying to New Zealand too, just as a backup,” said Rudraaksh, a 17-year-old from Haryana.

However, universities are doing their best to gain the trust of the prospective students. “We are not planning to rescind any offers at this stage. We are approaching semester one, operating as usual, as we work through the implementation of the proposed changes around international student recruitment,” said Dr Stacey Farraway, La Trobe University Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice President Future Growth.

While Indian students are hoping that this decision will not have a major impact on them, they are however a bit worried about its long-term effect. “This is how Canada and the UK started changing their positions too, and now we are more hesitant to head there because of the developing hostility. Who knows Australia will not take a similar turn? At the end of the day, with all diplomatic speeches, international students are simply a commodity to progress their economy,” said an Indian student who has recently graduated from Australia.