campusreview. com. au international education
Few could deny that encouraging newly arrived refugees to maximise their education potential is not only a social good but also indicative of a welcoming and caring society. It also fits neatly with many European nations’ long standing practice of not charging foreign students tuition fees if they choose to study at their institutions. This accounts largely for the fact that Germany and France are included in the global list of top 5 study destination countries. By way of contrast, not only does Australia stand accused in international education forums of being focused on profiting from overseas students, but also our policies towards refugees are constantly derided.
SCHOLARS AT RISK Australia is the only study destination country of note to have no national chapter of Scholars at Risk. While some of our universities are affiliated with this organisation, and similar bodies with the same purpose, we choose to have no national coordinated strategy in this space. Instead, we stand by and watch overseas universities organise jobs and guest worker visas to assist academics in genuine fear of their lives escape their home countries and find refuge.
In recent years, Scholars at Risk has been able to point to hundreds of academics who have been successfully relocated to countries in Europe and North America. Here in Australia, both major political parties have found political mileage in further restricting our temporary skilled worker visas – the equivalent visa category that is used elsewhere in the world to provide safe haven to academics at risk.
UNITED NATIONS’ SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Many deride the United Nations as a toothless tiger, a talkfest unduly focused on the demands of the Global South. Notwithstanding these criticisms, the UN has produced some outstanding thought leadership and policy documents, particularly in the field of education.
Twenty years ago, a UN report on‘ lifelong learning’ influenced many nations to focus more comprehensively on the education needs of all age groups.
More recently, a push for nations to give greater priority to global sustainability was encapsulated in the UN’ s 17 Sustainable Development Goals( SDGs).
At the last meeting of international education associations in Mazatlán, Mexico, attendees were challenged to“ embed the 17 SDGs in everything we do in international education”. Two years later, few Australian educators reference these goals, let alone attempt to embed them in their curriculum delivery.
Happily, there is movement at the government level to change this. The secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Frances Adamson, has become a vocal supporter of the goals and has all 17 listed on the back of her department’ s ID card.
The Department of Education and Training is also examining new ways of giving the SDGs priority in their policy settings.
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION COORDINATION EXEMPLAR
Despite giving the above global initiatives scant support, our nation has had success in one notable area of international education policy leadership. Since the publication six years ago of Michael Chaney’ s report into the future of Australia’ s international education sector, real and effective change has taken place in the governance of our dynamic sector.
Australia is the only study destination country in the world with a National Council for International Education. Chaired by Education Minister Simon Birmingham, it includes six federal ministers and 11 nonministerial members. Through the president of the Council of International Students in Australia( CISA), the voice of the students has full membership of the council.
Apart from quarterly meetings, there are currently two council working groups, Student Service Delivery and Marketing and Collaboration, which are undertaking specific policy work on workplace exploitation, common pre-departure student information, digital matrix and a new brand for Study in Australia.
Even within the separate federal departments, our sector now has its own consultation mechanisms. For six years, the Department of Home Affairs( previously Immigration) has chaired quarterly meetings of its Education Visa Consultative Committee. This committee has provided a useful forum for giving input into student visa system reviews, sharing information on problematic student source countries and providing the sector with early warning on enrolment trends. Its members include peak body representatives, state and territory governments and even the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
In a similar measure, the Department of Education and Training now hosts quarterly meetings of its own International Education Stakeholders Group and Data subcommittee.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop also chairs a New Colombo Plan Reference Group comprised mostly of student mobility experts to advise her on allocation of the $ 100 million New Colombo Plan initiative.
At state, territory and even local government level there are also now effective policy coordination mechanisms. In most cases these are chaired by relevant state ministers and city mayors. Some states, such as Victoria and Queensland, have substantial budget allocations for international student services as diverse as student welfare centres, free legal advice, discounted public transport tickets, internship / volunteering placements and safe, affordable accommodation referrals.
Other study destination countries have not been able to emulate our success in the coordination of government policy that impacts on our sector. In the UK, their border control agency is barely on speaking terms with their education department. US-based universities that wish to establish supportive policy settings for international students have no government department on which they can call. Even Canada, bereft of any federal education department, finds national policy coordination in our sector almost impossible.
Of course, it’ s one thing for Australia to have in place the world’ s most efficient and effective international education governance structure, but it’ s quite a different thing to rise to the challenge of‘ walking the talk’ on a range of global policy initiatives. When all the international education associations come together soon in Brazil, they will undoubtedly be providing our nation with a mixed report card on what has and has not been achieved as so-called leaders in international education. ■
Phil Honeywood is chief executive officer of the International Education Association of Australia( IEAA).
9