CANBERRA, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Australia's elite universities have accused the government of making the country unwelcoming for international students following a new move to limit enrolments.
Federal Minister for Education Jason Clare on Thursday announced that the government will replace its failed proposal for an international student cap by slowing visa processing once applications reach a threshold for each university.
The cap would have set new international student enrolments at universities and vocational education providers at a maximum of 270,000 in 2025 as part of the government's broader strategy to cut Australia's migrant intake. However, legislation for the cap was blocked by parliament.
Instead, Clare on Thursday instituted a new ministerial direction that will treat student visa applications as high priority up until a threshold of 80 percent of the caps has been met. After that threshold, applications will receive standard priority processing, slowing them down.
The Group of Eight (Go8), a coalition of elite, research-intensive universities, said the new system would lead to greater confusion for international students.
"We run the risk of confusing the international student market with these constant changes to policy settings," Go8 Chief Executive Vicki Thomson said in a statement.
"For too many potential students, it makes Australia look too hard and too unwelcoming as a higher education destination."
Universities Australia, the peak body representing all universities in the country, said in August that the planned international student cap would cost the Australian economy billions of dollars and result in thousands of job losses in higher education.
The Australian National University (ANU) in October said it would have to cut operational costs by 250 million Australian dollars (155.9 million U.S. dollars) over the next 15 months, with the bulk to come from job losses and wage reductions.
The university blamed its financial situation on changes in government policy and the management of international student numbers. ■
