International EducationPolicy & ReformTop Stories
Supporting international students can help stem attrition
It’s no secret that the international student market is Australia’s third-largest export sector – supporting Australian communities, jobs, regional economies and the country’s relationship with the world.
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This article is fantasy – the top international students do not come to Australia. We instead get a lot of mediocrity with often no concept of ethics (something that many of them literally see as a western nonsense) which is passing the system in order to keep the income coming to make up for government cutbacks in higher education funding. With the exception of a small group, the quality and calibre of the graduates are such that they bring more harm to Australian industry than good. Further, the more here the less incentive local students have to study. I would concentrate on addressing key issues such as why do we have fees at all for local students whilst at the same time offering scholarships of the same amount as several decades ago – how much more disincentive can you create to put students off? Getting a bunch of international students often with no morals just to create a lower paid working force with (hopefully) postgraduate skill sets is not going to do the country any good. And expecting them to go regional… what planet does the author live on???
It’s the segue from ‘no concept of [research] ethics’ to ‘no morals’ that is the great leap in your logic. Anecdotally, over the past decade supporting local and international students, I’ve failed to notice any moral difference between the two. Must look harder.
So, where can I find the research that measures the collective morality of international students?