Foreign Students Leaving Australia

Getting an Australian education is probably one of the most popular reasons why a lot of people want to go to the country. Indeed, the Australian educational system is considered as one of the best in the world today. That's why a lot of foreign students would certainly want to grab the opportunity once it comes along.

However, while the country is still enjoying a large influx of students in this area, it seems that the country's appeal is now slowly decreasing. Indeed, the country has seen a large decrease in the number of foreign students entering its soil in the last few months. And education experts fear that the trend is likely to continue in the next few years.

According to the statistics provided by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), the number of students applying for a visa to the country dropped by as much as ten percent in the last few months. Experts project that the drop could actually go to as high as twenty percent by next year if the situation does not change.

One of the biggest factors that has contributed to the decrease in the number of foreign students enrolling in the country is the recent changes done by the DIAC to the student migration program. It can be recalled that the DIAC announced last year that they will be doing a revamp of the student program in accordance to the changes made in the skilled migration program. With the new occupations list for the Skilled migration taking effect last July 1, about a hundred of the courses eligible for student visa application were automatically canceled by the DIAC. Thus, a lot of the students were forced to either return home or stay in Australia and face an uncertain situation.

And it seems that this is not yet the end of it. According to school administrators, there is yet another factor that is contributing to the decrease in foreign student numbers in the country. They said that the increase in the price of education in the country also contribute greatly to the decline of foreign student numbers. This in turn, they attributed to the strengthening of the Australian dollar.

And as it turns out, with the situation Australia is in, its competitors in the international education market are now making their move to attract more foreign students. Both Britain and the US are now relaunching their student programs. Thus, school administrators are urging the Australian government to act and respond to the situation. However, with the way things are, it is unlikely that the government can give a solution anytime soon.