Australia’s Northern Territory to Welcome International Students From Singapore

The city of Darwin in Australia is planning to welcome in October a group of 70 international students from Singapore, the Northern Territory government has announced.

According to the regional government, they are cooperating with Charles Darwin University to assist the international students on their arrival to the country. However, it has not been announced yet whether students or institutions will cover the flight’s expenses, which could cost around $2,500.

“We are working with the Australian government around getting back into the next lot of term — how do we do that safely and make sure the economy keeps ticking, basically, but do it in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone?” the Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner told ABC Radio Darwin.

In order to make sure everyone will be safe, students are expected to self-isolate at the facility in Howard Springs in Darwin.

“Anyone coming in from overseas and into Darwin and into that quarantine facility will do so in a scheduled way between the Australian government and the Territory government, bringing them in and making sure we keep Territorians safe,” the Minister added.

Whereas, the Director of Study Northern Territory at the NT government, Rachael Shanahan, during a webinar said that Australia’s Northern Territory is the first to organize a student’s pilot, and expressed happiness over the decision. 

The group consisted of 70 international students expected to arrive in the country during October with a flight from Singapore are nationals of the following countries:

1. China
2. Malaysia
3. Singapore

In the meantime, a spokesperson also told CDU that Charles Darwin University is in discussions with the Northern Territory government as well as the Australian government regarding the pilot program to bring back the international students in Darwin if the pilot programme is successful.

Similar student pilot programmes have been considered by other countries across the world, but there has not been any concrete implementation so far.

The official date when the international students from Singapore will arrive in Australia’s Northern Territory has not been confirmed yet.

Earlier, it was reported that the number of international students in Australia has decreased from thousands to dozens, while Australia’s plan to bring back 300 international students who had to return to their home countries due to COVID-19 pandemic remains on hold until Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s approval.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 410 international students returned to Northern Territory for the second semester of their studies during the last July, compared to this July with no students coming back to the country.