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Our public universities need to have a higher priority on diversity in their classrooms .
The Minister for Education and Youth , Alan Tudge . Picture : NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage
More diverse , more sustainable
Ten-year international education strategy aimed at recovery , sustainability .
By Wade Zaglas
The federal government has released on its 10-year strategy for international education , hoping to position the country for a robust pandemic recovery and “ create new opportunities ” to foster a more diverse and sustainable sector .
Called the Australian strategy for International Education 2021-2030 , it not only discusses measures to support a swift return of international students , but also outlines ways to make the sector more sustainable in the medium term .
MORE STUDENT DIVERSITY AND COURSE OFFERINGS TO MEET SHORTAGES
An important aspect of the new strategy is to promote more diversity among the international student population to minimise financial risk and “ maximise the Australian and international student experience ”. Consequently , the government will be introducing a diversification index to foster more transparency around student diversity .
Another important part of the strategy in the medium term is aiming to better align the country ’ s skill shortages with more courses to address them . The government says there is a huge demand for higher education in the region , and Australia ’ s institutions could meet this need with “ different product offerings ”.
While acknowledging that Australia ’ s international education market was one of our “ great success stories ”, Minister for education and youth Alan Tudge said things must be done differently in the medium term .
“ We want to see our international student market flourish again , but we have to ensure that the Australian student experience is also prioritised . This means that our public universities need to have a higher priority on diversity in their classrooms ,” he said .
“ Some public universities have as many as 80 per cent of their international students from one country . This creates financial risk for those institutions , but it can also diminish the student experience – for both Australian and international students .
“ There is an enormous opportunity to grow our international student market through high quality offshore courses , similar to what the United Kingdom has done . We could potentially be educating 10 million students in this manner in a decade or two , supporting the development of our neighbours as well as providing a revenue source for our universities .”
Minister for trade , tourism and investment Dan Tehan also weighed in on the need to attract international students from new and emerging markets to ensure the sector continues to thrive .
“ International education is our biggest services export earner and Australia is known globally for providing world-class education ,” Tehan said .
“ As part of this strategy , the Morrison government will promote Australia ’ s education sector to new and existing markets to increase its global reputation as a provider of top quality education .”
A BOOST FOR THE INDEPENDENT SECTOR
The Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia ( ITECA ) looks forward to the government ’ s new strategy , saying it will create “ an environment that will support overseas student enrolment growth with independent higher education and vocational training providers ”.
“ ITECA welcomes the new strategy that will be critical to helping independent higher education and vocational training providers that support international students . They have been walloped in the past eighteen months , so the release of the new strategy could not have come at a better time ,” ITECA ’ s chief executive Troy Williams said .
Williams also agrees with the strategy ’ s focus on diversification , arguing that the sector ’ s dependence on a limited number of overseas markets is “ not sustainable ”.
“ Independent higher education and vocational training providers recognise this . Not only are they looking at new markets such as Latin America , they are also looking at new ways to support students . A growing number of ITECA members are progressing new business models that will see them open campuses in off-shore markets , an approach that allows them to support a significant number of students ,” he said .
Better aligning Australia ’ s future skills needs with appropriate courses is another part of the strategy supported by the independent sector peak body .
“ Independent providers support around 90 per cent of international students in vocational training programs , so we strongly support initiatives flagged in the strategy to help our members better align their offerings to international students with the nation ’ s future skills needs ,” Williams said . ■
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