CANBERRA – The Australian government announced on Tuesday that it will cap international student enrollments for 2025, a move that was expected considering the challenges faced by the government.
As per the announcement which comes amid skyrocketing home rental prices, the cap will restrict university enrollments to 145,000, maintaining current levels, while practical and skills-based courses will be limited to 95,000.
The fresh decision – under which the number of new enrolments will be limited to 270,000 – follows a series of policy shifts since last year, ending COVID-era concessions that had allowed foreign students and workers to fill staffing gaps during social distancing protocols.
In this regard, Education Minister Jason Clare highlighted that international student numbers have surged by about 10% in universities and 50% in vocational training providers than before the pandemic.
During a press conference, the minister highlighted that it was necessary to manage this growth to ensure the sustainability of housing markets.
The announcement was not hailed by universities including the University of Melbourne, which has expressed concerns about the financial and broader implications of the limit. Other institutes including the University of Sydney, Universities Australia, etc are also evaluating the impact of the cap but remain committed to working with the government.
The fresh decision reflects growing public concern over the impact of high levels of migration on the housing market and surveys also reflect the public sentiment in this regard.
TO discourage international students and immigrants, the government also announced last month that it would more than double visa fees for foreign students and tighten rules to prevent continuous extensions of stay.
As far as the statistics are concerned, net immigration reached a record 548,800 for the year ending September 30, 2023, a 60% increase from the previous year; Australia welcomes the majority of immigrants from Asian countries including India, China, and the Philippines while the government figures imply that the country is host to about 717,500 international students.
It bears mentioning that the housing crisis in Canda also forced the authorities to reduce the entry of international students by 35 percent as compared to 2023 levels.
