Isinasaalang-alang ni Punong Ministro Scott Morrison ang planong hikayatin ang mga international students na lumipat sa mga regional centres, na maaaring makabawas sa paglago ng populasyon sa Sydney at Melbourne.
“In the north, they want more population, In Adelaide they want more population.” sabi ni Mr Morrison.
“But I can tell you in the outer suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne, they don’t so it’s about how you manage population and there are plenty of levers for how you do that.”
Ayon sa Australian Bureau of Statistics, mayroong higit na 786,000 international students noong 2017, ngunit mababa lamang sa apat na porsyento ang nasa regional areas.
Sang-ayon naman sa naturang hakbang ang mga regional institutions
“[Students] interact a lot more with the people in the community here [Armidale] so they get to have a more true Australian experience,” sinabi ni University of New England vice-chancellor, Annabelle Duncan, sa SBS News.
“The common language between all the international students and the domestic students is English so they practice their English a lot more.” sabi ni Ms Duncan.
Ngunit ang ilang grupo na kumakatawan sa mga international students ay nababahala na maaaring hindi sapat ang mga pasilidad upang maakit ang mga estudyante at ang plano ay maaaring magdulot ng masamang epekto.
But the body representing international students is worried they may not have the necessary facilities to make it an enticing option and the plan could have an adverse effect.
“Regional institutions might not have all the courses that the city universities would have,” sinabi ng presidente ng Council of International Students Australia, Bijay Sapkota, sa SBS News.
“There could be less opportunity for work integrated learning because big corporations would be established in the city area rather than the regional area.”
