Australia ‘back in the fold’ for foreign students

Australia has regained its sheen as an international education destination, with would-be students prepared to forgive and forget its long lockout and harsh treatment of foreigners during the pandemic.

A survey of more than 700 education agents in May suggests that Australia is back in students’ sights after being treated as a pariah throughout its 21-month border closure.

Seventy-three per cent of agents reported rising interest in Australia over the previous two months. A similar 70 per cent of agents observed increased appetite for the US, while 86 per cent said the UK and Canada were garnering more attention.

The Australian figure represented a sharp improvement from a similar survey last October, when just 28 per cent of agents had reported growing interest in the country. This compared with rises of between 73 per cent and 83 per cent for its northern hemisphere competitors.

Education services company Navitas, which conducted the survey, said the results were cause for “cautious optimism” about international student flows after Australia’s borders reopened in mid-December.

“We can’t be entirely certain what damage was done when we were closed for two years,” said study author Jon Chew. “But in terms of sentiment, it does seem like a very quick turnaround.”

Mr Chew said the rebound had not been unexpected, following an earlier surge in appetite for study in the US. “We thought it would take a long time for them to rehabilitate their image after a few years of Trump and then Covid, but they had a good turnaround last year.”

The figures depict a roller-coaster ride for Australia’s reputation, which initially flew high thanks to its successful management of the health crisis and was widely regarded by agents as the most attractive education destination.

But lingering border closures and perceptions that students had been let down by the federal government, denied access to Covid emergency measures and urged to “go home” by then prime minister Scott Morrison, tarnished Australia’s image. By last October, it ranked rock bottom of the major education destinations on agents’ perceptions of openness, safety, stability and management of the pandemic.

Only 35 per cent of agents thought Australia had a clear plan for rebooting international student arrivals, compared with confidence levels of over 80 per cent for the northern hemisphere destinations. Fewer than one-quarter expected Australia to be open to students by the second half of 2022.

Mr Chew said that while these perceptions would be fresh memories for agents, students were a different matter: “They’re making up their own minds on where things are at, which explains both why the US came back so quickly and probably why Australia sentiment has come back so quickly as well.”

He said students would have “some latent memory” of when Australia’s reputation was in the doldrums, after hearing unflattering accounts from siblings or cousins who had hoped to study there. “The word gets around; but for the most part, it’s a new generation coming through pretty much every year,” he added.

Mr Chew said the big test would be whether enrolment figures in three months revealed a mid-year spike. “Semester two is a big intake, but it’s also very competitive – that’s when the northern hemisphere is in full swing, recruiting for their autumn and fall.”

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com