Universities’ allure dims for Chinese, Indian students

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Raj Kiran Grewal, who lives in Mohali in India’s Punjab state, saw Australia as the ideal place to do her MBA, writes John Power for Al Jazeera. But after spending 20 months trying to get around the country’s ultra-strict border controls, Grewal is so sick of “false hopes” that she is considering studying in the United States or Canada instead.

“Australia is definitely not the right option as they just want the money from international students and they do not care about the rest,” Grewal said. “I am really frustrated with the way the college and immigration treated the stranded overseas people, including international students, and family members of the people living in Australia as well,” she added, explaining how she deferred her course when Australia shut its borders in early 2020, only for her university to cancel her enrolment after she declined to accept the option of studying online.

Grewal is one of many international students who have looked elsewhere during Australia’s self-imposed isolation, raising fears of long-lasting damage to one of the country’s most lucrative industries. Students from China, India and other Asian countries have long been drawn to Australia to study due to its high-ranking universities, English-speaking environment and comfortable lifestyle. Before the pandemic, international education contributed AU$40 billion (US$29 billion) to the economy, making the sector the fourth-largest export after iron ore, coal and gas.
Full report on the Al Jazeera site