Highlights
- No set timeline for the return of international students to Australia
- International students deserve some deserve indicative date by which they can resume their studies onshore, says Mr Honeywood
- 12,740 student visa holders who left Australia were from India
The federal and state governments have proposed several plans for the return of international students, ever since the travel restrictions first started being imposed nearly 12 months ago.
But most of those plans were scuppered by fresh outbreaks and the threat of new COVID variants, leaving hundreds of international students stuck offshore, many with incomplete degrees and visas that have either already expired or are running close to the finish line.
Northern Territory remains the first and only jurisdiction in the country that followed through its proposed pilot and succeeded in bringing 63 international students back in November 2020.
The NT Government had brokered a deal with the Federal Government and Charles Darwin University (CDU) in September 2020 to fly the international students to Darwin.
63 international students from 5 countries arrived at Darwin airport on Monday 30 November 2020 Source: Charles Darwin University
While the university had , a CDU spokesperson told SBS Punjabi on Tuesday that they are still working with the territory and the federal government to seek approval for more flights.
We are seeking approval for flights departing from Asia and the Indian Subcontinent
"As the proposal is still awaiting government approval, further details relating to the flights and quarantine arrangements are yet to be established,” the CDU spokesperson said.
'Our priority is returning Australians home'
Australian jurisdictions have put international students behind approximately 40,000 stranded Australian citizens and permanent residents in the queue for the limited quarantine places available for returning international travellers.
This was, however, poised to change in New South Wales after in critical areas late last year.
While those plans were later shelved, Stuart Ayres, the Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, said the state will continue to work with the Commonwealth Government and the education sector with the clear aim of having overseas students back in 2021.
He, however, added that “at the moment, our priority is returning Australians home.”
“Given the arrivals cap of 3,000 a week into Sydney Airport – that currently leaves limited room to consider international students. The 3,000 weekly arrivals cap allows the hotel quarantine program to operate safely and within operational limits,” Mr Ayres said.
'We will bring back international students when it is safe to do so'
The Victorian Government has committed $33.4 million in funds to lay the foundation for a strong recovery for the state’s education sector but has not drawn any set timeline for the return of students.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed a new lockdown in response to a growing COVID-19 cluster in Melbourne's west. Source: AAP
A state spokesperson said that it is working closely with education providers and the Australian Government to welcome international students back "when it is safe to do so.”
While South Australia government is working on a plan to facilitate the return of .
A state spokesperson told SBS Punjabi that they continue to liaise with airlines to fly students as part of the pilot program.
“The South Australian Government is working with the Commonwealth to explore all travel options to bring back international students in 2021, which includes the use of both scheduled commercial and charter flights,” said the spokesperson.
'Need for a national strategy to bring back international students'
Gagandeep Singh is an international student who is currently stuck in north India. Source: Supplied
“We keep hearing about these plans to fly back students, but it’s been a year, and none except NT has so far succeeded in implementing those plans,” the 28-year-old said.
The latest figures indicate that nearly 164,000 of Australia’s 542,106 student visa holders were stuck outside the country on 10 January 2021, .
Mr Singh said a national strategy is needed to welcome them back to Australian campuses.
“The states must give us some indication or a set timeline so we can plan our lives or move on if needed. The uncertainty is adding to our woes and might end up ruining our future,” he rued.
Will vaccination pave pay for the return of international students?
Echoing the call, International Education Association of Australia chief executive Phil Honeywood said students deserve some indicative date by which they can resume their studies onshore.
“Everything that we are hearing is that once the majority of the Australian population are vaccinated, then the moods will be more relaxed about bringing students back into the country,” Mr Honeywood said.
He added that it would be helpful if students can prove that they have been vaccinated in their home country.
Ravi Lochan Singh, the president of the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India (AAERI), said vaccination might pave for the return of a small number of students this year. Still, he is not hopeful for the entry of new students.
Ravi Lochan Singh, President, Association of Australian Education Representatives in India (AAERI). Source: Supplied by Ravi Lochan Singh
“The way things stand, it appears Australia may not be able to welcome new students for the remainder of this year,” he said.
“They may get some existing students who remain stuck from the pre-pandemic period, but not new students, because here the main intakes are in February and July. And now it’s too late for students to plan for July, assuming they’d be able to travel.”
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