MELBOURNE, 19 JULY: Jason Clare., Minister for Education today released the Universities Accord interim report at the National Press Club, Canberra. Later he addressed the gathering of media people and others followed by a question and answer session with the media. While there are five priority actions recommended by the report, on the issue of international education sector the report says, international education is ‘crucial element’ of Australia’s ‘soft diplomacy’.
Figures from the Department of Home Affairs show there are more than 140,000 student visa holders currently in Victoria – with numbers doubling since borders reopened. China, India, Vietnam, Nepal and Colombia are the countries that send most students to Victorian universities and colleges.
International education is Victoria’s biggest service export, generating $8.4 billion in revenue last year and supporting more than 40,000 jobs across the state. The sector sits behind only food and fibre and manufacturing on the overall export earnings table.
Under the heading, ‘ Fostering international engagement’ (page 12) it says, ” The review sees international education less as an industry and more as a crucial element of Australia’s soft diplomacy, regional prosperity and development.”
And among other policy areas, ” ensuring that international education supports broader Australian foreign policy objectives, for example, strengthening relationships with India and the Pacific”.
The Accord Interim Report outlines a vision for the future of Australia’s higher education system. The Report reflects high-quality, thoughtful submissions and extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. It contains five recommendations for priority action and raises issues for further discussion to inform the Review’s Final Report.
In his address Jason Clare emphasised on more people going to the universities. And, the aim also being to help students in the regional areas and disadvantaged students. The following are the five Priority Actions proposed in the report:
The Minister has also announced the Government will act on the five immediate actions the Accord Panel has identified.
The Interim Report states that more and more jobs will require a university qualification in the years ahead.
While 36 percent of the current Australian workforce has a university degree, the report estimates that this could jump to 55 percent by the middle of this century.
That means more Australians will require a university qualification and the Interim Report says that many of those Australians will need to come from the outer suburbs of our major cities and our regions.
The report says that “bold, long-term change is required to fulfil the mission of higher education in Australia.”
The Government will act on the five immediate actions identified in the report ahead of the Accord Panel’s Final Report.
In response to the five immediate actions, the Government will:
- Establish up to 20 additional Regional University Study Hubs (formerly Regional University Centres), building on the 34 existing Regional University Study Hubs currently operating across the country, and establish up to 14 Suburban University Study Hubs.
- Abolish the 50 percent pass rule, introduced as part of the Job-ready Graduates Scheme, which has had a disproportionately negative impact on students from poor backgrounds and from the regions, and require increased reporting on student progress.
- Extend demand driven funding to all First Nations students who are eligible for the course they apply for. Currently this only applies to First Nations students in regional and remote Australia.
- Extend the Higher Education Continuity Guarantee for a further two years to provide funding certainty to universities as the Accord process rolls out, and as part of this, require universities to invest any remaining funding from their grant each year on additional academic and learning support for students from poor backgrounds, from the regions and from other under-represented groups.
- Work with State and Territory governments to improve university governance. This includes university governing bodies having more people with expertise in the business of universities, and a focus on student and staff safety and making sure universities are good employers.
In addition to the five immediate actions, the report identifies more than 70 policy ideas the Accord Panel is considering including in their Final Report and it seeks feedback on them.
Pradeep Taneja, Senior Lecturer in Asian politics, political economy and international relations at the University of Melbourne, in a comment to South Asia Times (SAT) says, ” It’s an important report. But regardless of what it says about foreign policy objectives of the education policy, the universities are primarily interested in fee income and the overall benefits of internationalisation in terms of educational outcomes.”
