Representational image of Australia’s overseas education orientation
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Australia will accept only 2,70,000 overseas students in 2025, the country’s education ministry announced Tuesday (August 27, 2024).
A favourite destination for international candidates for higher studies and work, Australia has decided to limit the intake of foreign student to “in an effort to strengthen the integrity and sustainability of the international education sector”.
“Subject to the passage of legislation before the Parliament, it will set a National Planning Level (NPL) for new international student commencements of 270,000 for calendar year 2025,” says the media release published by the Australian Education Ministry on Tuesday (August 27, 2024).
“It will mean that some universities will have more students this year than next year. Others will have less,” Education Minister Jason Clare said in a news conference.
This decision aims to balance a recent policy, as the ministry gave priority to students deemed to be at low risk of visa non-compliance. This system has given advantage to top ranked universities while drastically slowing visas for other institutions
According to official data foreign students were worth more than Aus$42 billion (US$28 billion) to Australian universities and vocational education centres in 2023.
The authority gave visa to more than 5,77,000 international student visas in the fiscal year to June 30, 2023.
“Arrangements for 2026 and beyond will deliver sustainable growth in international student numbers to ensure the sustainability of the sector into the future,” the press release added.
“International students were Australia’s second largest industry after mining, accounting for more than half of the growth in Australia’s economy last year,” said Universities Australia chair David Lloyd.
‘Absolutely vital’
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said even though the overseas students industry is “absolutely vital” for the country, universities should not be overly reliant on overseas students, in part because of the implications for migration.
According to official data, overseas students were worth more than Aus$42 billion (US$28 billion) to Australian universities and vocational education centres in 2023.
Earlier this year, the country had doubled the foreign student visa fee.
As of July 2022, 96,000 Indian students were studying in Australia, forming the second largest group of foreign students after China.
Official data released in March showed net immigration rose 60% to a record 5,48,800 people in the year to September 30, 2023.
In May, the Australian government had announced that it would set limits on the number of international students that can be enrolled by international education providers.
(With inputs from AFP)
