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Those fleeing war zones, like Majid, might
not have the requisite documents.
If an asylum seeker is fortunate enough
to gain a scholarship, as Majid did, a whole
new swathe of challenges arise. Money
is obviously a huge one, but there’s also
navigating the foreign Australian university
system and culture.
To these ends, Hartley is drafting a report
containing recommendations for relevant
universities.
“One university employs a four-day-a-
week asylum seeker liaison person … That’s
a key report recommendation,” she says.
“A couple of universities do really great
mentor programs. That’s [also] been really
successful.
“Particularly given the most recent
policy change, where asylum seekers’ [visa
designation has changed, and therefore
their] benefits have been cut … [there’s
an] absolute need for universities to also
offer them a stipend or enable access to
employment at the university.”
She notes that some universities already
do this.
BOATLOADS OF NEED?
Before 13 August 2012, when government
policy changed so that asylum seekers
who arrived by boat were automatically
transferred to offshore detention centres in
Nauru and Manus Island, there were 30,000
people seeking asylum in Australia.
Of these, how many wanted to take
up vocational and university study, but
couldn’t?
According to Hartley, this is impossible
to know.
“We’re doing research on this,” she says,
“trying to get a number as part of a project
funded by the National Centre for Student
Equity and Higher Education.”
However, she does know that anecdotally
only 1 per cent of asylum seekers
worldwide can access tertiary education.
She thinks that “certainly a good chunk”
want to study, but they can’t due to the
We offer institution-wide access
aforementioned barriers.
“Many don’t want scholarships, they
just want to get on with it like any other
domestic student,” she says. “They’ve been
forced into this situation by government
policy changes.”
Majid, for one, is incredibly grateful for his
scholarship.
“Had I not been offered the scholarship,
obviously I wouldn’t have been able to
earn the degree, and if I had not earned
the degree, I wouldn’t have been able to
apply for the position [I work in currently],”
he says.
He is also thankful for the random acts
of kindness shown to him by locals to help
him achieve his education goals. Before his
final semester, an elderly lady gifted him
$250 to pay for textbooks. To this day, he
cherishes her generosity.
“I still have those books, and I really want
to find someone that I can donate them to.
Someone who will really need them, in a
situation like mine.” ■
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