Australia Plans To Cap Foreign Student Numbers At 270,000, Sparking Backlash From Elite Universities

Australia's federal government has announced that it planned to cap the number of foreign students at 270,000 in higher education and vocational providers starting 2025.

The intake would be limited to 145,000 in publicly funded universities and 95,000 in vocational institutions, while each institution may set individual limits after consulting the government, Education Minister Jason Clare said on Tuesday.

The decision drew criticism from elite institutions, as they warned the move would damage Australia's reputation as a global education sector, The Guardian reported.

Based on 2021 data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, nearly 1.2 million people were attending university or other higher education, while 601,901 were enrolled in vocational education (including TAFE and private training providers). Australia hosts the second-highest share of foreign students, making it the country's fourth-largest industry.

Clare stated that at present there were more than 50% international students in private vocational and training institutes and 10% more in universities, than before the pandemic.

The new reforms, subject to an approval by the Parliament, would lower the number of international student enrollments to 15% more in universities, while "private vocational providers will enroll about 20% less."

The government's plan is seen as an attempt to shut down 150 ghost colleges that were making a "quick buck" by operating as a backdoor for people to arrive in Australia for work.

"Students are back but so are the shonks — people are seeking to exploit this industry to make a quick buck," ABC News quoted Clare. "This is about setting up the system in a better and fairer way so it's not only a lucky few universities that benefit but the whole sector."

The government had recently introduced stringent conditions for enrollment and doubled visa fees in its bid to crackdown on bogus applications.

The new rule will not apply to international school students, research students, students enrolled into English language courses, non-award students, government-sponsored scholars, students in transnational education arrangements, foreign government scholarship holders, and students from the Pacific and Timor-Leste.

Vicki Thomson, chief executive of Group of Eight, which represents some of Australia's largest universities, said the limit of 270,000 was "unexplained." "This policy was bad yesterday and it is bad today."

She added that the government did not consult them while deciding on the cap. "There's been no consultation in terms of how they've arrived at the numbers they've arrived at," Thomson said. "Particularly for the Group of Eight, we know based on the numbers ... it will mean a cut in international students for our universities — and a cut means less revenue."