The influence of China on “our’ universities has been admitted at long last:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/top-unis-admit-china-influence-go8-fears-backlash/news-story/c3286cf68d58f03b849d85b22bbd5b96
“The peak body representing Australia’s elite universities has for the first time acknowledged there have been “isolated” instances of Chinese government interference on campuses but warned mishandling the issue risks the country’s third-largest export market.
In an interview with The Weekend Australian, Group of Eight chief executive Vicki Thomson said the response to China’s influence within universities must be countered in a “measured way” to prevent a backlash and protect the inter-national education sector.
Unprecedented growth in international student enrolments, largely driven by the influx of approximately 170,000 Chinese nationals, resulted in a $22 billion boost to the Australian economy in the 2016-17 financial year — an 18.5 per cent increase on the year before.
In four prominent cases this year, academic staff at Australian universities have been targeted in Chinese social media campaigns after complaints from Chinese international students about “offensive” teaching material.
In the case at the University of Sydney, the institution issued an apology on behalf of the lecturer for using a map which did not show the Chinese interpretation of their territory.
In cases at the University of Newcastle and Monash University, Chinese consulate education counsellors became involved, sparking debate about academic freedom. The Chinese government also supervises students in Australia through Chinese student and scholars associations inside universities.”
Well, he who pays the Chinese piper, plays a Chinese tune. The University sector, evident to anyone who cares to visit a university, is largely Chinese, or looks it. There is not a squeak about this, because of the sacred university sector fees, allegedly giving us $ 22 billion per annum. What a pity that no academic has set out to challenge this figure, which strikes me as just bs. The GDP of Australia’s entire agriculture sector, 2010-2011, was 48.7 billion, and the technology sector, 79 billion. The $ 22 billion figure seems massively inflated and some magic accounting, I think, has gone on to produce it.
The average cost for an international student’s bachelor degree is $29,235 per annum: https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/student-finance/how-much-does-it-cost-study-australia. Most students will be doing such degrees, some will be doing MAs and PhDs. Anyway, as a back of an envelope calculation, just of fees, I got 9.6 billion, for 320,000 students. The figure will be higher when the lower number of higher degrees are included. Then one needs to consider the extra costs that are produced through taking in all those international students. My guess is that it is an illusion to think that this sector is profitable and is a great Ponzi scheme. A massively inflated university sector is maintained just to bring in Asian students.
Actually, the education sector is just a branch of immigration and it is about bringing in Asian migrants to Australia, through the back door. Most importantly these are migrants who will become the new professional class of Australia.
Bring on the economic collapse…it would be worth it to see the universities, now the most evil institutions in the known universe, more toxic than plutonium, implode.