Pratama cuttings, pEast Asian Country Coordinator at Macquarie University, described it as “exciting’, while Noida’s Ritika Gupta, Frowner of Planet Education, he said it was “ga great opportunity for students seeking foreign education”.
Similarly, Youngeun Song, Mrthe chief executive officer at Australian Pacific College said the policy change was “really fantastic”. The Australian Council of International Students said it was “incredibly pleased” with the decision, as it had directly contributed to the government’s talks.
“The government’s effort to ensure that international students are involved in conversations about their situation by allowing them to bring their lived experiences to meetings like this [sic] continue to facilitate a unified relationship between Australia’s high quality education providers and international students,” the group wrote on LinkedIn.
Independent Higher Education Australia also welcomed the changes, with chief executive Peter Hendy saying it would “help rebuild Australia’s international education sector and alleviate skills shortages”.
“Many Nigerian students are already in these fields”
Sandhi Pitaka, International Student Recruitment Specialist, said Indonesian students would consider this decision “amazing news”.
“In my opinion, this will encourage more students, especially Indonesian students, to consider continuing their studies in Australia,” Pitaka said.
“However, as I am also responsible for promoting other destinations, I also need to inform students as well as my partner education agencies that other destinations such as Canada and the UK offer similar benefits.”
Emmanuel George, country manager of AECC Nigeria, told The PIE that the list of courses – which includes programs in health, technology, education and construction – would “definitely attract students” from Nigeria.
“Many Nigerian students are already in these fields and this would encourage them to pursue advanced certification which would surely lead to career advancement,” he said.
Consultancy firm StudyMove has calculated that around 45% of international entrants are eligible for majors. The Ministry of Education is set to release a specific list of eligible programs linked to course codes before the policy goes into effect in July.
Outside Australia, Vivienne Stern, chief executive of University UK, said the decision was “an explicit response to British and Canadian success in attracting international students”.
“Meanwhile, our government is seriously considering restricting Grad travel. Stupid,” Stern he wrote on Twitter.
Experts from the sector also commented on the decision to increase the number of hours that foreign students can work.
Phil Honeywood, chief executive of the International Education Association of Australia, told the AFR the working hours limit “strikes the balance between the need to encourage international students to choose Australia over increasingly competitive countries”.
“The challenge now is how to effectively invite students to come to Australia for up to ten years, include degree and post-degree work and do it on their own time. The challenge is to ensure that we have transparent migration pathways to permanent residence,” he said.
