News from AIEC about Australia, Hungary, EU, Central Eastern Europe and Turkey for visitors, students and migrants including economy, business, marketing, international education, study abroad, society, migration, sport, culture, tourism and more.
Eğitim Avustralya'da, Tanulj Ausztrália'ban, AIEC Študiraj, delajte, živite v Avstraliji, AIEC Studiranje, posao i zivot u Australiji.
'INTERNATIONAL education is "flying under the radar" as a contributor to a faltering national economy, even though plunging student revenues could push some states into recession.
The International Education Association of Australia said attention continued to be focused on manufacturing job losses from companies such as Toyota, Alcoa, OneSteel and Murray Goulburn, even though international education had lost $3 billion in a year and enrolments were declining "week in, week out".'
All true but this article and message is directed at wrong audience as readers of The Higher Ed and those privy to the international education industry would be aware of current issues, while there are short term marketing activities that could yield results.
Bit worrying when a senior university Director of International pleads help on what to do re. rising dollar plus tighter visa and immigration rules, when the answer has always been apparent.
Start marketing, i.e. talk to all your international candidates, prospectives and agents for feedback on pricing, marketing communication channels, education quality, positives of studying in Australia (state and institution).
This can inform marketing strategy focused upon digital (Australian about 5+ years behind), e.g. promote potential price scholarships for existing students and good prospectives, complemented by cooperation with state marketing bodies on branding and awareness in multiple international markets (but much more cost effective than offshore events).
This includes both education and tourism marketing bodies from all states so their websites/shopfronts can be found internationally through SEO and digital marketing e.g. other languages blogs, video etc., highlight "live" offshore communication channels (as http://www.australia.com does via "Aussie Specialists") and analyse regularly.
More importantly, like members of the academic community such as Dr. Bob Birrell of CPUR have done to promote anti immigration sentiment; start researching, shaping the message and promoting, to not just politicians, but to the general community and mainstream media, the benefits of international education and immigration.
When one speaks to most Australians outside of the sector, it is clear they have been misinformed and misled by a concerted campaign over past years by researchers, politicians and media as most cannot see any benefits whatsoever.This is exemplified by same old myths, e.g. they take Australian student places, jobs, rentals, overcrowding our cities, etc. and according to senior journalists (from Fairfax) they are just given student visas and are granted automatic residency while all private colleges are obviously dodgy......
While Australian politicians of all parties unashamedly play tough on refugees, prospective immigrants and use "the race card" for votes, it will take potential loss of votes through the electorate for them to un "wedge" themselves from anti foreigner rhetoric and policy, unless a neo "white Australia" in the "Asian century" is really what we identify with?
The travails of the Australian international education industry exemplified by decrease of 20% or $3 billion in past year with Melbourne and Sydney economies taking $1 billion hit each, includes added value of accommodation, services and tourism, (apart from high $AUD); this is almost wholely due to onshore issues, related and seemingly unrelated, but almost all attention is focused upon symptons, not causes.
No thanks to Australia's political class (whom The Economist singles out as particularly inept), in addition to political activists on both sides masquerading as media, and an Australian society that has also become more negative and belligerent towards difference or diversity or foreigners..... makes good short term politics....
The Labor government developed and implemented an internationalisation policy in the mid 80s to attract fee paying students as our ageing population would deplete both the tax base and state financial resources through increased health care and pension commitments (ditto introduction of private pension or superannuation so it did not face budget issues in future, see Europe now.....).
Further, culturally Australia is an immigration nation with a diverse society; there is a need for immigration to shore up the tax base, and increase economies of scale in Asia an increasingly important region (while UK has already withdrawn and the US will have to inevitably pare back on defence commitments). Accordingly, the conservative Howard government innovated the concept of study to permanent residence (PR), the obvious logic being such younger candidates would be assimilated while offering skills in demand (while publicly playing tough on refugees, illegals etc.).
The responsibility for international education, education quality, student visas and immigration lies with both federal and state governments, quangoes, plus self accrediting education institutions e.g. universities, who have obviously been remiss in their responsibilities e.g. management of system, quality asssurance, student welfare, quantity versus quality etc.?
The education industry, especially the state education sector and related quangos, have reason to be coy when insiders observe unnecessary, incessant and ouright travel ) rorting (accommodation, events, allowances etc. under the guise of "marketing" ($500 million p.a.?), failed offshore ventures and ethical breaches where public servants use their positions for personal economic benefit e.g. seeding private companies with some even becoming publicly listed (and they become directors).
Meanwhile, politicians, advisors and media learnt that racism transcended political parties and a whole series of issues have been negatively conflated since the 90s via "dog whistling" e.g. Asian immigration, refugees, "boat people", identity, infrastructure, environment, population growth, resistance to "political correctness" (meaning one can be racist?), English language skills, dodgy colleges, Islam, proxy "white Australia", "culture wars", influence of US based conservative Christianity etc. etc.
All these negative points have been helped or reinforced by reference to Australia's resident experts e.g. demographer Dr. Bob "I'm not a racist but..." Birrell, Dick Smith, Tim Flannery, Kelvin Thompson, Bob Carr, Bob Brown etc. for quotes or opinions that support the negative issues related to immigrants; race or culture, environment, local jobs, insufficient infrastructure, or "neo colonialism" i.e. need for students to return to home country ..... nothing positive.
The definition of population changed in 2006 so that international students, temporary workers, dependents etc. were included, and along with net overseas migration (NOM so they are now known as immigrants too), there have been short term spikes which have used to alarm Australians for both social and political purposes e.g. "Big Australia" (when they should be used to celebrate the fact that Australia is popular?).
Australia's incompetent politicians of both sides have now been "wedged" by these issues through "dog whistling" in the media exemplified by stronger negative rhetoric, in addition to tougher student visa and immigration laws.
Now an international student, in adddition to ever higher level of funds, has to satisfy any visa officer that they are not just a "Genuine Student", but also a "Genuine Temporary Enrant", i.e. they must return home after study, even though it is quite legal to apply for PR after graduation..... Both Orwellian and Kafkaesque, Australia a comfortable first world country?
The Australian media has been the biggest culprit along with politicians (with neither group reflecting Australia's diversity) propagating negative myths, opinions, suggestions, but little if any critical analysis.
Examples are:
"international students are just given visas" wrong
"international students take Australian jobs" wrong
"international students take Australian students' places" wrong
"international students get PR automatically after graduation" wrong
"most international students apply for PR" wrong
"international students are given free education/cars/flats/etc. etc." wrong
"international students &/or immigrants (from Asia) cannot learn to speak English fluently" wrong
All in all a very sad reflection of Australia and its ability to sabotage a very successful service industry which supports property market, tourism, hospitality, transport, and most importantly, our Asian and international social and business relationships.
Last wank of the "skipocracy" which would prefer a "neo white Australia" policy? (N.B. "skip" refers to Australians of Anglo/Celtic background).
THE federal government has dismissed a $3 billion decline in revenue from international students last year, saying "the drop was as expected, and a good thing".
Tertiary Education Minister Chris Evans said the fall was contained to vocational colleges that the government had targeted with reforms to stop "visa rorting".
But a Deloitte's report last year for peak group Universities Australia anticipated a worst-case scenario of just 3 per cent decline in 2011 across all education sectors.
Yesterday's figures reveal a 20 per cent fall last year alone.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released yesterday show the growth in GDP slowed to 0.4 per cent in the December quarter from 0.8 per cent in the September quarter. More than a third of this can be attributed to losses in international education revenue.
In December, international education earned $2.8bn, down from $3.7bn a year earlier -- a 26 per cent drop.
Senator Evans was "not concerned by the statistics reported and I don't accept the criticism".
"The fall-off has been in the lower levels of vocational courses and that reflects the government's decision that I made when I was immigration minister to end the migration rorts. That sector was [characterised] by visa-rorting; people being sold a visa rather than an education," he said.
Last year's Deloitte's report found forecasts for 2012 were for another weak year."
The Australian Labor government really is in "la la land" claiming a 20% hit in international education services income is a good thing.....
No education institution has closed through low quality education or corruption, though many good and bad have gone bankrupt due to "panicked" government visa and immigration policy.
Again, government and regulators have avoided responsibility.....
In addition to economic stupidity a quasi "socialist" government claims that vocational education is of lesser value, implying Australian vocationally trained workers are of lesser value too, very egalitarian......
If they think the university or higher education sector will not experience any difficulties, while government wants to fund more places for Australian students, think again.New offshore commencements way down, casual or temporary staff working in international related areas already laid off, now permanents are being encouraged to accept redunancy packages and/or resign early.....
THE value of international students to the Australian education sector has collapsed by 20 per cent as the high dollar gouges an industry already reeling from migration cutbacks, a prohibitive visa regime and violence against foreign students.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show plummeting overseas student numbers slashed more than $3 billion in revenue from the nation's biggest export service industry in a year.
Education exports crashed to $13.9bn last year from $17.2bn in 2010 and a 2009 peak of $17.7bn, in the worst result since 2007.
The peak group representing English-language colleges said the federal government had not done enough to help the industry in a major crisis.
"If this was related to manufacturing, we would see a different response," said English Australia head Sue Blundell.
University of Melbourne higher education expert Simon Marginson said revenue growth since 2007 had been wiped out.
"It bears out our worst fears about the downturn," he said.
Professor Marginson said the figures showed the government had been right to accept the recommendations from last year's Knight review of student visas, including easier visa access and better post-study work rights.
But Professor Marginson said it would be some time before numbers picked up. "We still have much work to do to persuade education agents, parents and students the door has been reopened and Australia once again welcomes international students."
RMIT analyst Gavin Moodie said the downturn was likely to have most impact on short English language programs.
But experts fear worse is to come when the decline hits universities, causing damage to the wider economy.
A Deloitte Access Economics report last year found the downturn could hit the economy harder than the universities, costing 57,000 jobs and stripping $6.2bn from GDP by 2015.
It found a downturn in university enrolments would have a greater impact on the economy than other educational sectors because university students studied longer and paid higher fees.
So far the downturn has been concentrated in the vocational and English language sectors, both of which lost more than 16 per cent of their international students last year. This reflects federal government policy, after vocational colleges became embroiled in migration-linked rorts in 2008 and 2009.
Higher education enrolments were steady last year, although the number of new students declined by 5 per cent. Universities have benefited from this year's removal of enrolment caps for domestic students, with an extra 150,000 admitted to public universities since 2007.
But Dr Moodie warned that universities depended on English-language students, with more then half the higher education visas granted last year going to people who had applied from within Australia, usually after completing vocational or English courses.
Opposition universities spokesman Brett Mason said the "perfect storm" predicted for the past three years had finally hit international education.
But Senator Mason remained optimistic about demand for university places.
CentralQueenslandUniversity international education researcher Alison Owens said it would take time for the Knight reforms and the internationalisation of university curriculums to flow through to overseas enrolments. Meanwhile the industry was experiencing increasing competition."
Commentary to follow..... Australian politicians, society, racists, media, misinformed and industry, well done :)
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