from my viewpoint I'd say most overseas students used to be cooped up in Uni grounds but when they started interacting with the wider community they realised where Australis is heading & now they can't be bothered anymore.

The sad part about all this is that peoples's dreams have been crushed.

Stupid/morally corrupt politicians tying education to residency, should be held to account.

It was a backdoor ploy by population boosters / property developers to give the numbers a massive hit.

Apologies to those genuine students who have been conned.

Cheers,

Ralph

Dilan states the foreign student intake has been subsiding. Because? The student visa criteria has toughened up since the discovery of dodgy migration agents and students hit the headlines. Many new student visa applicants since were assessed as being non-genuine potential students so were refused, and also because of insufficent funds to support themselves. In general, a significant number of foreign students had been seeking local charity organisations due to lack of finances. And the whole issue of foreign students being treated as crime targets has been completely over-blown. Australia has the highest intake of foreign students than any other country to the detriment of our education system. The issues arose since the Vocational education training came into the picture and I hear there are some/many courses that are occupied with over 50% of foreign students who speak in their own language amongst themselves to the detriment of locals. I did also hear an interview with a foreign student who also wondered how this could be happening in an English speaking country.

I'd like to have it explained why the australian education outfit thinks it fit to dumb down australian students yet educate foreign ones. what & where is the logic in that ?

“We can halt the decline by addressing the legitimate needs and expectations of foreign students.”

But do we want to?

The education sector is designed to service the needs of those who largely fund it, Australian tax payers.

Why should Australian tax payers be expected to provide the infrastructure for foreign students to come and undermine the economic advantage which Australia presently maintains?

I know “education” has been used widely to influence foreign policy goals but are we doing this here.... offering course in waitressing and hairdressing... are we seeking out the soft underbelly of some foreign nation by influencing their hair styles and eating habits?

Training foreign students should be a way to either:

Advance Australia’s foreign Policy objectives (and I don’t think the current labor government has any - since dumping Rudd... when the objective was Rudds UN ambition)

Or

improve the utilisation of redundant / surplus education resources.

Beyond that who, excepting those with a vested interest, cares?

The article is about universities. Its not about hairdressing or waiters etc.

The issue is that the decline from the vocational sector has now impacted on the tertiary sector.