Education A PLAN


for the long term


Chinese students comprise 27.1 per cent of overseas students across all sectors of Australia’s booming international education market (November 2010). Yet despite Australian education’s windfall to the economy, the Lowy Institute for International Policy has warned that education providers and policy-makers must consider the future and the idea that international students returning home are Australian education’s greatest marketing asset. International education is Australia’s third-largest export market, earning over $15 billion in export income annually, but as tertiary institutions face incentives to maximise income from foreign students, some have lowered language standards and cut costs on student welfare and service provision. Students who return to their countries with negative


experiences could become a poisoned alumni, conveying critical attitudes in other countries about Australian society and poor impressions about Australia’s reputation as an education provider. They could ultimately destroy a strong export product. Although foreign students are studying here in record numbers


and surveys still reveal a majority of international students return with positive views of Australia and the education they received in Australia, there is mounting evidence that significant numbers of foreign students face difficult, exploitive and isolating conditions while studying here. With the number of foreign students growing annually, even a disillusioned minority translates into large numbers.


“Beijing is increasingly assertive in advocating the welfare of ethnic Chinese minorities overseas when they are under attack”


The largest foreign student cohorts in Australia are Chinese,


and Australian education providers should be aware that Beijing is increasingly assertive in advocating the welfare of ethnic Chinese minorities overseas when they are under attack. The plight of Chinese students in Australia could translate into an enduring diplomatic irritant if not resolved quickly. Education is a service which is evaluated and marketed


predominantly according to reputation. The growth of perceptions overseas that Australian education seeks to maximise profits and minimise costs, paying declining attention to quality control, threatens to damage its brand name and eventually its dynamism as an export industry. Although there are many high-quality tertiary education providers in Australia, education attracts a


152 Australia China: BEYOND TOMORROW


national branding; perceptions about low quality Australian providers can stick to the entire Australian education sector. A negative cycle could develop. Declining


reputation causes the better international students to go elsewhere, leading to greater reliance on poorer quality students, who return home to inevitably be compared against the good students who went to other countries. Australia needs to invest to attract the best overseas students as a way of ensuring the ongoing prestige of its brand name. From the mid-1990s, income from


international education began to become a substitute income for declining public funding of the tertiary sector. The decade from 1996 saw public funding for higher education fall by four per cent despite a 31 per cent increase in student numbers. Currently, universities rely on international students for an average of 15 per cent of their funding. Governments have proved willing partners in helping tertiary institutions attract international students, sitting dedicated education officers in Australian diplomatic missions. At the same time, public funding for tertiary education should be reviewed to remove the incentive for institutions to maximise earnings from international education. That the international education sector


in Australia continues to grow reflects the massive demand for education in the West from developing Asia. This demand also creates opportunities for unscrupulous education agents in many developing countries. International students report agents misrepresenting the education product on offer, its price, and the support services available to prospective students; and in turn helping prospective students defraud the English-language tests on which their acceptance depends. The result is that some foreign students arrive


CHINA


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180