INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION campusreview. com. au
Data & dollars trump dinners
Instead of throwing gala welcoming banquets, providers should focus on helping students find jobs and keeping them informed.
M @ nabi _ saba By Saba Nabi
Are we doing enough to empower the international student cohort in Australia? The answer from me is a sweet and simple,“ No”.
Australia is a great destination to attract international students. However, the beautiful beaches, rich multicultural society, and attractive flora and fauna are not enough to meet the expectations of an international student who has travelled here to study.
This is my personal view and I firmly believe this to be true for most other students as well.
The international education sector contributed $ 5.3 billion to the Australian economy in the March quarter of this year, the highest amount ever recorded. The sector has grown by $ 2 billion since this time last year, when it was valued at $ 17.6 billion, the Australian Bureau of Statistics( ABS) reports.
Yet when we look at the real scenes unfolding across the country, we can see that an international student may justifiably feel betrayal at each step of their journey.
First of all, there is no real induction process for students in their home country during pre-departure sessions, leading to unrealistic expectations. For example, most international students feel they will get a part-time job as soon as they arrive in Australia, which would take away the tension of financial instability for a moment.
Once they get to Australia, the information they receive during orientation deals mostly with academic liabilities while providing minimal if any information about their rights and entitlements. They are soon attending classes, and then the real struggle begins.
Financial instability is just one problem. Another major concern is the lack of information. Not enough data is provided regarding the Education Services for Overseas Student Act 2000, tuition protection services, the role of the student ombudsman, fair work policy, safety rules, scholarships and grants exclusively for international students, employability advice, safe and affordable accommodation, and engagement with alumni on recent job market trends. And these are just some of the areas in which students feel betrayed by education providers because they don’ t provide enough information.
International students are mostly unaware of the federal government’ s National Strategy for International
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