international education
campusreview.com.au
Barriers to international education
As the international education
sector looks forward to 2019,
there are signs that various policy
and regulatory issues being
pursued by our major parties
may impede enrolment growth.
By Phil Honeywood
A
t the recent Armistice Centenary service to commemorate
the end of World War I, French president Emmanuel
Macron reminded the global community that it was the rise
of nationalism that was the harbinger of the “war to end all wars”.
Around the globe, the international education sector is certainly
being challenged by a rising tide of nationalistic fervour. In the
UK, this has taken the form of counting temporary full‑fee‑paying
overseas students in the official migration numbers and
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discriminating against targeted student source countries. In equal
measure, Donald Trump’s rhetoric against Muslim and Latin
American students is now beginning to influence the USA’s student
visa policy framework.
On the other hand, Canada and New Zealand have grown their
market share significantly, through enhancing migration pathways
and post-study work right visa options.
In all of this, what are the major domestic policy and regulatory
issues facing Australia’s international education sector in 2019?
PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE PUSHBACK
In Australia, the nascent anti-international student narrative
involves a unique policy twist. Suddenly, we find some
politicians and elements of the media suggesting that overseas
students are largely to blame for overcrowded trains, buses and
highways. In some cases, these students are even accused of
being the key reason first-home buyers are unable to enter the
housing market.