Tehan pins hopes on ‘some sort of breakthrough’ as universities take coronavirus hit

Australian universities face a multibillion-dollar hit as Education Minister hopes ‘for some sort of breakthrough’ in the next three weeks.

Missing univeristy: With Semester 1 already under way, more than 100,000 Chinese students remain locked out of the country.

Education Minister Dan Tehan hopes there’ll be “some sort of a breakthrough” in the next two to three weeks on the coronavirus, amid concerns Chinese students will not be able to study in Australia for the first semester and potentially even the second semester.

As universities face a multibillion-dollar hit from the impact of the virus, Mr Tehan said if it could be managed in the short-term there would likely be an “immediate bounceback” for the sector similar to what occurred under SARS.

“The hope is we will see some sort of breakthrough in the next two to three weeks, especially when it comes to quarantining, but if that doesn’t work we’ll work with the sector and we’ll make sure we can rebound when the time allows,” Mr Tehan told Sky News.

“My hope is we will see some sort of a breakthrough and we will be able to get students here for the first semester but we’ll have to wait and see.

The viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 34,872 people globally, killing 724 people in China so far, with 37,198 cases confirmed in the country.

So far, 14 cases of the virus have been confirmed in Australia with hundreds of Australian evacuees from Wuhan to be held in quarantine in camps on Christmas Island and outside Darwin.

Evacuees who arrived from China's Wuhan city are seen in the Christmas Island Australian Immigration Detention Centre Picture: AAP

“If the coronavirus continues and we can’t get students here for the first semester, and god forbid we couldn’t get them here for the second semester, that will have a significant economic impact.”

More than 106,000 Chinese students – 56 per cent of those enrolled in courses this semester – cannot enter Australia due to the Morrison government’s ban on people arriving from China.

This includes nearly 98,000 tertiary students, about 4050 secondary students and 2670 TAFE students.

Standard & Poor’s has estimated universities could lose up to $3.1bn in fees if students are unable to study in the first semester.

Mr Tehan also acknowledged student accommodation businesses and English tuition providers would take a significant hit.

“It’s really just watch, wait and see. We’re putting all the contingencies in place that we can as the disease, the virus continues to spread,” he said.

Scientists are at work in the VirPath university laboratory, classified as "P3" level of safety, as they try to find an effective treatment against the new SARS-like coronavirus. Picture: AFP

“The next two to three weeks is going to be absolutely crucial as to where we go and what the ultimate impact will be.”

A proposal from the NSW government to screen passengers from China at the Richmond air base in Sydney and quarantine people in local hospitals was rejected, Mr Tehan said, because it was a working air base.

“The government considered a number of options and I think made the right choice in going to Christmas Island and now we’re looking at other facilities,” he said.