The Fall of the Australian Universities: Impostor Institutions Offering Dodgy Degrees, By James Reed
Before reading the below extract on the Australian immigration university crisis, I read Stephen Sherman, "The Fall of the Universities Began in Vietnam," https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/05/the_fall_of_the_universities_began_in_vietnam.html. The article deals with the rise, and victory of the Left in all areas of social policy and shaping existing world views. Yet, all that seems somewhat remote from the grim reality of today, where the universities, ever eager for the international student big money, strive to bring 'em in by the plane load, endlessly, causing social chaos and misery.
In reaction to the government doing what should be done on a much larger scale, namely reducing the numbers (when what is needed is to close down the entire system), university chiefs have been screaming. University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott has said that the problem is not the hundreds of thousands of international students that flood Australian universities, but impostor institutions offering "dodgy degrees." He has a point; these sham colleges are a problem and do need to be deal with.
But these sham colleges are not pulling in hundreds of thousands, soon a million, overseas students, to take student places and jobs. Microbusiness.com.au, has done an excellent job debunking this bs from the self-serving universities. It is a pity that the students are so Left-wing and self-destructive, as students need to fight back before total replacement occurs.It may well be too late now, as students go from high school brainwashing to higher level university brainwashing, if not conceptual lobotomies!
"University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor Mark Scott has hit back at the Albanese government's plans to alleviate housing pressure by restricting international student enrolments at Australian universities, arguing the "real problem" is impostor institutions offering dodgy degrees.
Federal ministers have met with members of The Council for International Education to begin consultation on a raft of legislative changes to slow down the growth of the foreign student market, amid concerns record migration is putting a strain on the rental market.
Professor Scott, also the chair of the Group of Eight university alliance, argued criticism of universities' international student intake is misdirected, and instead it is cowboy degree farms and so-called 'ghost colleges' that deserve "laser-like focus".
"The real problem that has existed in education has not been with the universities, it's with providers offering qualifications of variable quality," he said.
"The government's top priority should be targeting the dodgy providers who harm Australia's international reputation."
So far 34 registered training organisations suspected of either recruiting international students under false pretences or failing to provide quality training have been handed six-month improvement notices under a government crackdown announced earlier this year.
Professor Scott also pointed to research from the Student Accommodation Council which found international students account for only four per cent of the rental market across Australia.
"We need to look at the data, and not blame international students for a problem they are demonstrably not at fault for," he said.
The Tenants' Union of NSW welcomed policy changes forcing universities to play a bigger role in providing accommodation, but warned restricting immigration would not solve the housing crisis.
"Students are sold an image of studying in Australia that does not include cramped, expensive rentals and requiring providers to lift the supply of purpose-built student accommodation is a good aim," CEO Leo Patterson Ross said.
"(But) restricting immigration levels will not be the solution that delivers genuine and lasting housing affordability."
Council for International Education convener Phil Honeywood was satisfied that the federal government listened to the sector's concerns at a meeting with Education Minister Jason Clare, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts on Monday, to avoid the "policy ad-hoc-ery" that has plagued vocational and higher education.
"We've had acknowledgment the government will work with us to achiever mutual desirable outcomes," he said.
Minister O'Neil described the meeting as "positive and constructive", while Minister Clare noted the "critical reforms" would take careful collaboration to get right.
"International education is a valuable national asset. It doesn't just make us money, it makes us friends," he said.
However, Mr Honeywood fears the contents of the federal budget will cast a long shadow on Australia's standing as an education destination.
"We're also expecting this Budget to double cost of student visas, and we're already the second-highest in the world," he said.
Moves to have universities build more student accommodation, meanwhile are "not a panacea" to the housing crisis, pointing out local councils are opposing projects such as a 1100-bed high rise proposed by UNSW facing objections from Randwick City Council.
"Shovel-ready accommodation projects in Sydney and Melbourne take three years to be approved," he said.
Former Western Sydney University Vice-Chancellor Barney Glover embraced the proposed legislation, and said the "very important conversation" on Australia's control over international student arrivals is a "timely" one to have.
"I don't think it's going to lessen the demand for study in Australia – we have a uniformly high quality higher education wherever you go, whether to Sydney, Armidale or Darwin, and in my view a rebalancing would benefit regional centres where often there is less pressure on housing," he said.
"Temporary migration is have an impact on housing in Australia, which international students are a part of, and we've got to recognise that.
"But it's a very important part of our soft diplomacy in our region and our economic prosperity."
NSW Premier Chris Minns also supported his federal counterparts taking action to slow migration, which has "put upward pressure on housing particularly in Western Sydney," he said.
"If we can boost the housing supply over the same period of time, we've got an opportunity – the first in a long time – to catch our breath."
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