campusreview. com. au
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
taking place – and whom the thieves also targeted – allegedly told the attackers to rob the students instead. Her logic being that because they were Asian they had money.
The episode highlighted the perceived barriers between residents of a local community and its guests – the international student community.
Then, earlier this year, the federal minister for social services, Kevin Andrews, appeared to label international students as wealthy whilst arguing that the National Rental Affordability Scheme was being inappropriately drawn on by many who did not require such financial assistance.
Whilst student representatives and advocates were playing their part to bridge the gap between international students and the wider community, remarks and comments of such from a federal politician were at best unhelpful, and at worst needlessly divisive. The general public may not necessarily see the reality and life of international students.
A 2013 survey conducted by Hobsons found that almost half of international students studying or wanting to study at Australian universities come from very low family income backgrounds.
The research, which surveyed more than 9200 students from 179 countries, indicated that 36 per cent of Chinese students came from a household with an income of less than $ 28,747 a year, whilst only 15.8 per cent of Chinese students’ families have an annual income of more than $ 114,991.
This survey result is more than enough to rubbish the general perception that all international students are necessarily wealthy. Whilst the cost of studying abroad can be huge, what people generally do not see is the preparation for it. The funds come from many years of savings by the hard-working parents. It’ s also sometimes true that individuals themselves have worked hard for many years just to save money.
The Hobsons survey may be well publicised within international education but not necessarily beyond the sector. So the public reading news articles in which the minister is reinforcing the idea that international students are wealthy is concerning. At the end of the day, international students are just human beings – the same as anyone else. The only difference is that we tend to be more adventurous, having the courage to leave our home nations, often the first time many of us have travelled internationally, trying to seek some surprises and experience different things. This is international education in simple terms.
Anti-multiculturalist attitudes within Australian communities should be condemned by society.
With Australia recently forced to mourn the loss of one of its greatest leaders, the late former PM Gough Whitlam, it is timely to remember his legacy. Whitlam fostered multiculturalism as an official policy but it seems the extent to which the nation continues to embrace this is too often brought into question.
It is great that the International Education Association of Australia, alongside other peak bodies, has been supportive of having an international student voice in the reform debate. But we are more than just a voice, rather, a mechanism for direct feedback to further improve the experience of international students.
It is absolutely critical that political leadership embrace student voices. That can be achieved only through a strong and consistent dialogue between the department, the sector and the relevant minister’ s office putting emphasis on those international student voices.
The hot discussion topic at the moment is the review of the Education Services for Overseas Students( ESOS) Act.
Whilst the focus from the government is
on reducing red tape, perhaps, this is also a good time to bring a more holistic view into this legislation with the sector having had about five years to mature since ESOS’ s previous review.
Analysing the issues international students face and exploring the possibilities and ways to address those through the ESOS Act would be ideal.
Having said that, the ultimate goal will still be maximising participation and use of the act by international students in order to ensure a healthy international education ecosystem.
International students, who make up a thriving export services industry in Australia according to the government, continue to face problems such as a lack of employment opportunities, the highest cost of student living in the world and safety issues that have become deterrents for studying here.
These students see both hope and fear in the future. Hope for a quality education and job prospects, but fear of safety issues, living costs and visa regulations.
Perhaps it is time for a stronger collaboration in addressing the fear factor and greater work to enable international students to feel confident and comfortable living in Australia.
A holistic approach needs to be taken that demonstrates Australia’ s support mechanisms and infrastructure are ready for the students. This also requires the Australian community to act collectively and responsibly in overcoming social issues and creating a harmonious study environment.
The cost of providing a quality education experience might be large, but the cost of failure would be bigger. ■
Thomson Ch’ ng is national president of the Council of International Students Australia.
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