International students will get hardship payments to cope with COVID-19
International education is South Australia’s biggest export but is facing its biggest ever challenge. A new $13.8 million fund is aimed at alleviating some of the pain.
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International students are in line for hardship payments worth between $500 and $1000 in a bid to help ensure the survival of the sector.
The State Government will on Tuesday announce a $13.8 million package to help ensure Adelaide remains a destination of choice for overseas students.
The three major universities will share a $10 million fund to help give students one-off hardship payments, expected to be between $500 and $1000.
In addition the three universities, which will run the scheme with the Department of Human Services, are expected to provide an additional combined contribution of an estimated $40 million.
The State Government will put in an additional $3.8 million for other overseas students studying in SA.
The Government said education for international students was the state’s largest export – worth about $2 billion a year – after overtaking wine this year.
But there are significant concerns about the future of the sector that the State Government had hoped to grow by an additional 2.5 per cent each year.
Victoria University modelling has shown that SA’s three major universities would lose a combined $100 million in international students fees alone if the nation’s borders remained closed for semester two entry.
Trade Minister David Ridgway told The Advertiser that last year more than 44,000 students from across the world chose to live, work and study in SA. “We know students are having a tough time at the moment as they don’t qualify for Commonwealth Government income support in response to the COVID-19 impacts,” Mr Ridgway said. “Every four international student enrolments creates one new job.
“International students also play a role in contributing to the state’s skills needs and strengthening our global connections into the future.
“Ensuring international students are supported as much as possible will assist in maintaining South Australia’s global reputation for international education and will provide peace of mind for the families of these students living thousands of kilometres away from them as we face such an uncertain time.”
Premier Steven Marshall said the Government wanted to make sure they looked after the sector through the crisis.
“This means that they will be loyal to us on the other side,” Mr Marshall said. “We want these students to not only study here but to become ambassadors, so it is crucially important that we continue to support this sector.”
UniSA has revealed it stands to lose up to $120 million from lost international students enrolments due to the coronavirus.
Writing in a university blog Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd ruled out salary cuts for all but the most senior staff who will lose 10 per cent of their income.
“The best-case scenario is over thirty million dollars of lost revenue this year,’’ he said.
Professor Lloyd said there would be immediate cuts to university expenditure. “These interventions will have some impact on operations, but not on staffing,’’ he said. “We are committed to preserving employment levels.’’
Migration expert Mark Glazbrook has been raising concerns about the impact of COVID-19 on overseas students because they do not qualify for Commonwealth assistance.