- Australian government revealed it would limit new international student intake to 270,000 starting 2025
- Education Minister Jason Clare who announced it said the change would bring the number of international students to the levels observed before the COVID-19 pandemic
- Over 150 “ghost colleges” had been closed to address fraud in the international education sector according to the minister
The Australian government has declared that it would limit the intake of new international students across universities, higher education, and vocational programs to 270,000, starting 2025.
The government revealed that the 2025 breakdown will be 145,000 new foreign students for universities, 30,000 for other higher education providers, and 95,000 for vocational education and training.
This was disclosed by the Education Minister Jason Clare at a press briefing on Tuesday, August 27. He said, “It will mean that some universities will have more students this year than next year. Others will have less.”
The new limit is designed to replace the earlier policy that prioritised students with minimal risk of visa non-compliance, a strategy that benefitted top universities while considerably slowing visa issuance for other educational institutions.
Clare explained that the change would bring the number of international students starting their studies next year back to the levels observed before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Universities Australia chair, David Lloyd said, “We acknowledge the government’s right to control migration numbers but this should not be done at the expense of any one sector, particularly one as economically important as education.”
An Essential poll for The Guardian published on Tuesday, August 27 revealed that around 69 percent of Australian respondents attributed high house prices to immigration.
The official statistics for 2023 showed that foreign students generated more than AU$42 billion (US$28 billion) for Australian universities and vocational training centres.
PM Albanese calls on universities to diversify funding sources
Lloyd noted that international students were Australia’s second-largest industry after mining, contributing to more than half of the country's economic growth last year.
“Every dollar from overseas students is reinvested back into Australia’s universities. Having fewer students here will only widen the funding gap at a time universities need greater support.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasised that universities should not depend excessively on international students, partly due to the migration-related implications.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, Australian authorities granted a total of more than 577,000 visas to international students.
The education minister announced that Australia's government also intends to safeguard the international education sector from fraudsters seeking to exploit it.
Clare noted that over 150 “ghost colleges” had been recently closed, referring to them as “a back door” that allowed people to work in Australia rather than obtain a legitimate education.
Tinubu approves policy to ensure that healthcare experts don’t leave Nigeria
Meanwhile, TheRadar that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the National Policy of Health Workforce Migration to address the challenges facing Nigeria’s health human resources.
According to the report, the policy is not only a response to the ongoing exodus of healthcare professionals but also a strategy to manage and reverse health worker migration.