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Doing a thread on how overseas students were screwed over by Australia's higher education "industry". This is important because Australia's int'l higher ed "supply chain" is largely agent-run. So, future students need to make informed decisions using unbiased info, not propaganda
1. In late March, when borders were shutting down and a large section of the overseas student body in Aus (~500,000 people) was left stranded, the government made a conscious decision to exclude them from all public welfare schemes: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australia-s-temporary-visa-holders-remain-locked-out-of-jobkeeper-and-jobseeker
2. Keep in mind that a lot of int'l students save up or go into debt (for paying tuition) to be able to study in Australia. In such a scenario, it is valuable that they get to support themselves by working part-time or as casuals.
When a large chunk of these students lost their jobs, they were forced 2 turn 2 food banks [Over 4.5 million citizens/permanent residents have meanwhile benefited from govt's welfare measures over the past 5 months]. To shut out Int'l students (+temp visa holders) from these...
...measures was not just racist, it was a deliberate anti-immigration stance taken for electoral gains. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/15/international-students-turn-to-foodbanks-as-casual-work-dries-up-in-second-melbourne-lockdown
3. It wasn't even done underhandedly though. The Prime Minister went on national television and said 'it's time to go home' to temp visa holders and int'l students. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-03/coronavirus-pm-tells-international-students-time-to-go-to-home/12119568
4. The government was warned by the opposition that this could be detrimental for the higher ed "industry". The warnings didn't deter them though from gutting the sector. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/03/labor-warns-some-universities-face-collapse-as-international-enrolments-plummet
5. This had immediate repercussions. The most affected ones were the research students. As funding, resources, and consequently their finances & mental health plummeted, homelessness and hunger became common amongst the research fraternity. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/10/almost-half-of-australian-phd-students-considering-disengaging-from-studies-due-to-pandemic
6. Meanwhile projections of Universities' losses mounted up. When Australia should have taken this opportunity to fund higher ed as a public service, they made a conscious choice to treat it more and more as a corporate sector. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/apr/11/universities-brace-for-huge-losses-as-foreign-students-drop-out
7. Shamefully, full-time teachers were asked to pay cuts,
while a huge number (~7,000 and counting) of casual faculty members were just straight-up made redundant: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-17/university-casual-workforce-redundancies-dirty-secret/12462030
while a huge number (~7,000 and counting) of casual faculty members were just straight-up made redundant: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-17/university-casual-workforce-redundancies-dirty-secret/12462030
8. The feeling of abandonment mounted meanwhile amongst the int'l student community: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/17/we-feel-abandoned-international-students-in-australia-facing-coronavirus-alone
9. Which is a point I want to stress upon. Australia sells itself as a "multicultural" destination for higher ed. IT IS NOT. If things go sideways, we are all NOT in it together.
As an overseas student, you will be humiliated in a structural way while your precarious labour gets exploited shamelessly. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/23/australias-coronavirus-relief-exclusions-prove-we-are-not-all-in-this-together
10. A country that treats its teachers in such a problematic way and doesn't mind throwing casual teachers overboard so unceremoniously, is not a good higher-ed destination at all. It is a country that doesn't care for the quality of the education anymore. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/16/monash-university-to-cut-277-jobs-as-slump-in-international-students-bites
11. The rotten cherry on top is how Australia's domestic students will be treated going forward. A recent policy measure announced says that Australia will cut funding to its domestic ARTS courses and spread it out over a longer period of time to "job-oriented" courses.
Hypocritically, this was done by a govt whose cabinet is largely made up of ARTS grads. If a higher-ed sector is ready to disregard its domestic students in such a manner; as an int'l student, it begs the question for you, how will you be treated when you actually get here?
12. If you're reading this, & you're WHITE and are in academia in Australia, I think the time for you to speak up has passed. The best you can do now is to vow never to helm/coordinate a study/research that commodifies this suffering already inflicted. We will be watching you.
This is not for you to build academic capital over.
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13. And, If you're a student overseas, thinking of coming to Australia to pursue higher-ed., my advice is - DON'T.
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13. And, If you're a student overseas, thinking of coming to Australia to pursue higher-ed., my advice is - DON'T.
Here's a little more in this thread of gloom and doom for #highered in Australia. #auspol
This is from an int'l student perspective. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/12/if-i-give-up-all-my-effort-is-for-nothing-international-students-thrown-into-melbourne-lockdown-despair?fbclid=IwAR3xMZWRUciSZ0Gjof_Mi4a7ktWyxd5zac_PJWABGqz9_SIqeFiGGQ8F1lw
This is from an int'l student perspective. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/12/if-i-give-up-all-my-effort-is-for-nothing-international-students-thrown-into-melbourne-lockdown-despair?fbclid=IwAR3xMZWRUciSZ0Gjof_Mi4a7ktWyxd5zac_PJWABGqz9_SIqeFiGGQ8F1lw
And here's more punishment for domestic students for no fault of theirs:
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/am/failing-university-students-face-losing-hecs-help-access/12553204
#highered #auspol
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/am/failing-university-students-face-losing-hecs-help-access/12553204
#highered #auspol
Going to close this thread for good with this speech by @JacquiLambie:
Haven't cried this much in a while. https://twitter.com/JacquiLambie/status/1313949072559013888?s=20
Haven't cried this much in a while. https://twitter.com/JacquiLambie/status/1313949072559013888?s=20
