Roshan Ghimire

Australian universities lost a greater source of revenue so International
students are leaving Australian universities in flock, and yet the federal

government is looking the supplementary way,

COVID 19 has change the world economic condition which created the
huge negative impact on education sector. On 20 th March 2020,
Australia unopen its international borders for all international students and
arrivals, except for Australian citizens and New Zealand citizens residing in
Australia, and citizens of Pacific Island countries transiting to home
countries.
This border stoppage influence international students too, and so Australian
universities lost a substantial source of revenue. As a result, Universities in
Australia estimates that 17,300 jobs will be lost across Australian
universities during the pandemic.
This is compounded by the fact that Australian universities have had very
little support from the federal government. Unlike charities and businesses,
which had to show a drop in revenue over a one-month or one-quarter
period to receive assistance, universities were required to show a drop over
a six-month period.
On top of this, public universities were entirely excluded from accessing Job
Keeper payments, and only four private universities were exempted from
the six-month rule.
Raw data on international students in 2020 indicates a total loss of 882,482
enrolments across the sector, with higher education making up 418,168 of
these.
As compare to 2019, the number of international students in 2020 from
China, Nepal, Vietnam, and Brazil dropped significantly, though
interestingly this was not universal – the number from India, for instance,
increased. Numbers also increased in vocational education, despite falls
across the rest of the education sector.
Situation in Australia
As 30 per cent of Australia’s 542,106 student visa holders are still stranded
outside Australia, especially in China, India, and Vietnam, their absence
has been felt in other sectors such as the housing market – thousands of
apartment buildings remained empty for much of 2020. This meant that
apartments previously accommodating thousands of students were no

longer a viable investment, pushing owners to sell at a price lower than
previous years.
Even into 2021, buildings remain empty in suburban areas in Sydney and
Melbourne, and suburbs around universities have been hit especially hard.
Australia’s largest student accommodation provider, Scape, with 14,000
bedrooms around Australia and another 10,000 close to completion has
estimated 80 to 90 per cent drop in occupancy in 2021.
While Indian students currently enrolled have been resilient to dropping
away during the crisis, offshore visa applications from India to study in
Australia have declined by 48 per cent, as Indian students are unlikely to
study online. They are now looking to other destinations whose border rules
have been more favourable to international students, like Canada.
This problem won’t go away until borders open. Noting the strong
association between migration policy and the international education sector,
a Mitchell Institute report estimated that the number of international
students will continue to reduce significantly if the international borders
remain closed.