<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>327165</docID> <postdate>2024-08-20 14:22:37</postdate> <headline>Universities brace for cap on overseas students</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-327166" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ANU-e1724127667495.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640" /></p> <caption>International student enrolments have risen sharply in the past two years.</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Dominic Giannini</strong> in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>The education minister is working to reassure universities and VET institutions an impending cap on international students will make the system more sustainable following concerns about hits to bottom lines.</strong></p> <p>International student enrolments have jumped from just over 520,000 to more than 810,000 in the past two years, which has resulted in shonky education providers trying to "make a quick buck" by gaming the system, Jason Clare said.</p> <p>"That growth... has lured people who really are here to work, not study," Mr Clare told the Australian Financial Review's higher education summit on Tuesday.</p> <p>"It's put the reputation of this industry under pressure, that's a fact," Mr Clare said.</p> <p>The university sector has criticised an incoming international student cap.</p> <p>Details on the individual caps for each of the some 1100 international education providers throughout Australia and the fate of a controversial ministerial direction would be unveiled "in the coming week", Mr Clare said.</p> <p>The timing is subject to legislation passing parliament, but is expected to be in place for 2025.</p> <p>A government direction – known as ministerial direction 107 – throttled student visas to bring the system under control, but has led to some consequences for regional universities.</p> <p>The direction has favoured affluent Chinese students who attend inner-city universities, while impacting regional institutions with a more diverse student base.</p> <p>"Some universities have benefited from it, but some have been hit hard," Mr Clare said.</p> <p>"It's why a lot of universities have asked me to act to put more sustainable arrangements in place.</p> <p>"This will be a better way to manage international education."</p> <p>Peak body Universities Australia called for the direction to be scrapped, saying it "undermined our efforts as a sector to diversify our international student base and is creating significant financial anxiety and pain for universities".</p> <p>"Particularly those in regional Australia and outer suburban areas," CEO Luke Sheehy said.</p> <p>Higher education visa grants were down 23 per cent in the past year, the equivalent of about 60,000 students and a $4.3 billion economic hit, Mr Sheehy said.</p> <p>The decline in students could cost the university sector some 14,000 jobs, "not to mention the flow-on effect for small businesses which rely heavily on students", he said.</p> </body>