Australia Prepares for the Arrival of Thousands of Chinese Students

The Australian authorities have said that they are preparing for the arrival of thousands of Chinese students following China’s Education Ministry warning for students enrolled abroad.

Only a couple of weeks before the Australian universities start, the Ministry of Education of China said that it would no longer recognize overseas degrees obtained through online learning and called for all students to return to campuses as soon as possible.

For this reason, Australia has already started to prepare for the arrival of thousands of students from China who are planning to resume their studies on campus, Erudera.com reports.

Reuters explains that the education sector of Australia has strong ties to China as around 150,000 Chinese students are enrolled in Australian universities.

Due to some COVID-19 restrictions that remained in place and strained diplomatic relations between the two countries, tens of thousands of Chinese students remain offshore. However, not that the educational ties have been normalized the relevant authorities are helping Australian universities to resolve any issues before Chinese students arrive in the country.

The Minister of Education of Australia, Jason Clare, welcomed the return of Chinese students earlier this week and said that he would work together with the minister of interior to overcome any short-term logistical problems.

Similarly, the move was also welcomed by the chief executive officer of the International Education Association, Phil Honeywood. The latter said that they expect a high number of students to arrive and at the same time stressed that he is concerned that some students will not be able to get back in time.

While the return of Chinese students was welcomed by the Australian authorities, the move by the Ministry of Education of China was criticized as well as met with anger from students.

Some students said that they do not hold a valid visa that would allow them to go to Australia in time. Chinese students also said that they have not made any flight arrangements or secured a place to live once they arrive in Australia.

As for the universities, Reuters notes that the University of Sydney expects the majority of students to be on campus when the classes officially start later this month. The same stressed that the University of Sydney plans to put an end to on-campus remote learning by the end of this year.

Data show that the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada are the countries hosting the most students from China. Now that the COVID restrictions have been relaxed, Chinese students are considering studying in other destinations too.

>> Chinese Students Consider Studying Abroad After COVID-19 Restrictions Ease