Concerns over non-genuine students and the education system being used as a sideshow are peaking, and it’s the sector itself crying out to the Government for it to stop.
In most industries, increased trade is a good thing, but in a sector such as international education, reputation accounts for a lot. It’s this reputation that Australia is now jeopardising by the government not acting on the sector’s advice.
As far back as eighteen months ago, warning flares were being put up by key leaders in the sector, flagging the then-current policies having considerable downsides. Warnings have not been heeded, and three completely avoidable issues now contribute to the current environment, which sees concern income generation is being prioritised over learning.
Uncapped work rights
In a Campus Morning Mail story on 14 Feb 2022 [Phil] Honeywood says, “with the largest number of students coming from the sub-continent, it will take time before we understand to what extent the recent uncapped work rights policy is acting as a major pull factor to come to Australia. Many institutions are also concerned about the impact that long hours of paid work outside of classes will have on students’ academic progress.”
Right, he was. While uncapped work rights have now been turned off, the residue remains. The international education sector has always been seen as a ‘study first, work second’ visa. The previous Liberal government sought to change things under the pressure of the business lobby. While potentially not a bad idea, its implementation needed to be short and sharp. Address the issue and go back to the norm as soon as realistic.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t short and sharp. It was due to be reviewed in April of 2022, whilst the government went into caretaker mode by issuing the election writ on 11 April of that year. A new government was elected and pushed back the decision to revert and by the time a decision was made and time to implement it, it wasn’t until 1 July of this year that ‘48 hours a fortnight’ was established as a new normal.
This move and the delay in correcting it created a cohort of students that became dependent on income generation, addicted to the idea that work could be promoted in front of study, which had never been the case before.
408 Visa
The 408 visa was utilised to allow students ‘stuck’ in Australia during the pandemic the ability to temporarily move off of a student visa and onto the 408 Covid-19 Pandemic Event Visa which is valid for 12 months and could be renewed.
Again in a Campus Morning Mail story on 1 June 2021 warnings were made about the intersection of immigration and education. “International education observers suggest this is a big opportunity for change the industry needs but warns that reforms will need to be well-designed and carefully implemented. “There are enough consequences for getting things wrong where international education and immigration intersect,” one says.”
Fast forward two years and the 408 visa appears to be the only COVID-19 relief structure still operational. It makes sense that students who activated the visa during the pandemic may still be slowly cycling off the 408, returning home or back to study. However, many in the industry are perplexed about how newly arriving students can still access it. By remaining open to new students, it creates a direct incentive to undermine the integrity of the visa system.
One can only anticipate government movement on this, but the sector waits with bated breath for new access and the associated loophole (that you can drive a truck through) to be closed off.
Course Hopping
The Koala has covered this topic in detail. Visa grant rates (13/7/23) and Onshore VET Movement: the State Story (16/8/23) both seek to understand and communicate what is occurring here – students arriving with a visa to enter higher education and ending up in the VET sector.
According to Ravi Lochan Singh of Global Reach, it is quite simple:
What should occur – “A student arrives for a bachelor’s degree at a University but seeks to move to a diploma at a private vet. The initial visa has condition 8202 and that would mean that since the student has dropped AQF level, a new visa is required.”
What is occurring – “However, what happens is that once onshore, an agent organises to cancel the original study plan and enrols the student in two programs – a VET diploma as well as a bachelor’s degree that may start two years hence and obtains two COE’s. There is no need for the bachelor’s degree to be packaged with the diploma. And thanks to this, Home Affairs is not able to apply 8202. PRISMS shows the current diploma course and the future COE for the bachelor’s degree.”
He says signs are now emerging that not only are these movements are taking place in an broadly orchestrated way but they are intentionally connected. “The onshore agents and the colleges have realised that it is much easier if the student simply applies for a fresh visa for the diploma onshore. The student who would have definitely been refused visa offshore is nearly certain to get the visa for the same course onshore and this is evident from the visa success rate.”
“The Age article over the weekend and their Instagram handle showed how so many colleges occupy shared buildings and no students are found in the classes. And there is a need for a full declaration on linkages of these colleges with education agents, onshore and offshore. I am told that 25 of the colleges are owned directly or indirectly to agents in South Asia and this is a clear conflict of interest.” Says Singh.
The Fear
With several reviews about to be handed down, the fear is that the government goes too far in addressing relatively simple fixes. The fact the sector itself has been petitioning the government to make these changes speaks to the awareness and foresight leaders have within it.
