We should be filling gaps not putting on caps

Charles Darwin University vice-chancellor Scott Bowman. Picture: Sierra Haigh

One thing that has been lost in this debate about the “wave” of international students has been the personal cost for young people hoping for an education in Australia.

I feel I can confidently speak on this, not as an international student myself, but as someone who has seen thousands in the halls of regional universities.

International students are some of the bravest people in the world. They come to a new country where they often don’t know anyone, they leave their family and their friends and are often the first family member to seek a better life abroad.

Little thought has been given to how the federal government’s plan to cap international student numbers would affect our education sector’s reputation, or indeed the human impact this policy would have on the international students themselves.

As vice-chancellor I get to speak with many of our international students daily and I wanted to introduce you to just one of these students.

I first met Kevin in Ahmedabad, India, as part of a Charles Darwin University delegation that was travelling the subcontinent and opening a recruitment office. I spoke to him about the many opportunities that Charles Darwin University, Darwin and Australia could provide him and the need for skilled students.

Kevin came to Charles Darwin University to study a Master of Engineering. He will finish his study in a matter of weeks.

The second time I met Kevin was on the construction site of the new city campus late last year, where he told me that he was inspired to study in Darwin after hearing about the Northern Territory.

During his study he had the chance to literally help build Charles Darwin University’s future as an intern with infrastructure consultancy Capital Insight, which was advising on the building of our city campus.

He had never worked in construction before but during his 11-month internship he learnt key skills that will help him in the ­future. These skills are also much needed in the Territory.

Kevin has said that being an international student in Australia gave him the opportunity to immerse himself in a new culture, develop a global network, and gain skills that are highly valued in the global job market.

While Kevin’s story is unique and a testament to my advocacy for the Northern Territory’s only university, his experience as an international student is not unique.

The Territory gives many students from different parts of the world a chance for a world-class education. Our students are not from the traditional markets for international students. Our students come from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Vietnam to name a few. And it makes the Territory a more diverse community, one that embraces other cultures and bring ideas from our international neighbours into our everyday lives.

A cap like the one being proposed by the government does not affect everyone equally. As we have seen from the tightening of visa restrictions for international students, any policy changes are amplified for regional universities where international student numbers are a fraction of those elsewhere.

While there has been acknowledgment that regional universities are different, it is not clear how that difference would be reflected in a student cap.

Firstly, we need international student migration into the Northern Territory. Our international graduates get jobs more successfully than just about any international graduates in the country. Many of those jobs are in the Northern Territory where there are skill gaps. We should be filling gaps not putting on caps.

Secondly, our ask for international students is relatively small. We are looking to grow the number of international students at the university to about 6000 by 2027. The Northern Territory government wants to grow the number of international students to 10,000 by 2030. These may sound like large numbers, but let’s put it into perspective. In the year up to March 2024, there were 627,906 higher and vocational international students in Australia. In the NT, we are only asking that 1 per cent are based here.

Some single universities on the east coast take more than five times what we want for the NT.

While there is a human cost to this cap, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the financial impact that it would have on Charles Darwin University.

In terms of finances, we will post a deficit for 2023, but our forecasts had the university returning to surplus in 2024-25. Any reduction in international student numbers would make delivering a surplus very difficult.

I am spending time in Canberra to consult more deeply with the federal government and talk through the impact the cap would have on Charles Darwin University and the Northern Territory.

What would I say to students like Kevin now, who have the ­ambition and energy to look for opportunity in Australia?

In the past, Australia has welcomed them with open arms, but now with the government’s plan to cap international student numbers I am left wondering what kind of welcome they will get.

Emeritus Professor Scott Bowman AO is vice-chancellor and president of Charles Darwin University.