Indian students hopeful after positive signals from Australian government on reopening borders

Disha Chakraborty has been studying online for the last two semesters at La Trobe University in Melbourne. She is now hoping that she will be able to go to her campus for in-person classes soon, as Australia opens up its borders for international students after 18 months.
“I have mixed feelings about studying online; on one hand I can concentrate on my classes from the comfort of my home in Kolkata and don’t need to find work on campus. But I’m missing out on meeting people face to face including my peers and my teachers,” says Chakraborty, who is doing a masters course in business analytics.
She had started planning her education in Australia back in early 2020 but had to defer her plans because of the Covid-19 pandemic. “It was a tough time for me because I was hoping to avail myself of an education loan for my course. For several months I had nothing to do but wait at home with uncertainty; I couldn’t join a job since I was expecting normal travel to resume soon and classes to start,” says Chakraborty; who started online classes in early 2021.
She is now hopeful that she may soon receive information from her university about details on travel to Australia for international students; since Victoria, the state where her university is located, has announced plans for the return of foreign students. She feels that her third semester courses will be impossible to study online.
With Australia’s borders closed to all overseas visitors, including students, for the past 18 months, it’s no surprise that the number of overseas students enrolling in the country’s universities has seen a huge drop. The total number of international students enrolled in higher education in Australia fell to 287,409 in early 2021 – down 14% from 2020. Only 30,786 international students started new courses in February 2021, a 37% drop from the same time in 2020, according to Australian federal government data.
Now with positive messaging from the Australian government and Prime Minister Scott Morrison, there are hopes of international students returning. It is likely to start from February-March 2022, with students who have already commenced studying online or remotely in 2021, being the first to return, feels Ravi Lochan Singh, managing director of educational consultancy Global Reach, which has offices across South Asia. “Thereafter post-graduate students who may have results ready and have not chosen a destination in 2021, will travel to Australia. The undergrad students who finish school in 2022, will be considering the July intake.”
Singh, who is based in Sydney, sees hope because the Australian prime minister and other Cabinet ministers have stated that the government is going to prioritise the return of international students soon. Meanwhile, the government of the Australian state of New South Wales has announced a pilot plan to bring back international students. These candidates should be fully vaccinated, and the first batch of 500 overseas students is expected to reach Australia by the end of this year. The states of Victoria, Australian Capital Territory and Queensland have also indicated that fully vaccinated returnees can enter without the need for quarantine.
“The fact that Australia’s main intake of students is February-March while it is September-October for other competing countries is likely to give an advantage to Australia next year and most students who are stranded in India are expected to return then,” adds Singh.
Following the positive signals from the Australian government, universities are looking at working with state governments to finalise protocols for the return of international students to their campuses. “Deakin University being based in the state of Victoria is also working closely with the state government and will be welcoming international students as per the guidelines. We are expecting movement of students currently studying online. All them have been holding student visas and may easily transfer onshore in 2022 subject to meeting minimum Covid requirements by the government of Victoria,” says Ravneet Pawha, deputy vice president, global and CEO, South Asia, Deakin University. More broadly, she expects the entry for new international students in the later part of 2022 or early 2023.
The advantage for Australia, according to experts, will be that the government would be better prepared to handle challenges of the pandemic. “The universities are working very closely with both the state and federal governments to ensure that they are equipped to handle the entry and also ensure that the students have the best of the experience while onshore,” feels Pawha.
Despite all the uncertainty, for Indian students, the fact that Australia offers a pathway to permanent residence and skilled migration continues to remain attractive. “The pathway to PR after education is still attracting Indian students who are planning to study in Australia. Every state and territory of Australia has preferred immigrants who have studied in their respective states and subsequently worked there,” says Ravi Veeravalli, principal consultant, Star Global Education Alliance, an education consultancy based in India and Australia. Students who complete courses of at least two years are eligible for a post-study work visa of two to four years. This is a big draw for Indian students who are focussed on return on investment.
Lower cost of living and tuition in Australia compared with the United Kingdom and the United States are also likely to attract Indian students. “The fee structure in Australian universities is less in comparison to other English-speaking countries such as the US and the UK. This makes studying in Australia affordable without compromising the quality of education,” Veeravalli feels.
Over the past 18 months, Australia has built a fortress around itself trying to tackle the pandemic with many Indian students having to take a gap year or changing their overseas education plans. “They are now anxiously waiting for Australia to open the borders. Education agents focussed only on Australia and New Zealand have started to promote other destinations, and many students who waited for a while are now looking at alternatives,” says Lakshmi Iyer, executive director of education at consultancy firm Sannam S4. She feels that the uncertainty for so many months has meant that Australia has lost ground with students and it will take at least three years to recover to the pre-pandemic situation. But for many students, who are attending online courses at Australian universities, the anxious wait is far from over.