As you may be aware, I am an international student in Australia. I came here to study. I did not realize how large the industry is and how commodified education is here. Just so you can have an idea of the scope of this business it is worth $10 billion dollars a year and there are over 350,000 international students currently studying in Australia (The Age, March 16th, 2007, "Being ripped off is not an education").
Now this mixed with the xenophobia and racism that are here means that we are ripe for exploitation with little support from the general public and lawmakers. Some examples of the systemic problems include the fact that international student visas are the most expensive visas at over four hundred dollars each, as a visa condition we have to get private health coverage, and unlike local students we are not granted concession to ride on the trams. The list goes on, but I think you get the idea.
The other day some 60 international postgraduate students from CQU went on a hunger strike and protested at the DIC (Department of Immigration and Citizenship, finally a ministry that has an appropriate name). Apparently they are allowed to stay, but the problem of substandard education and exploitation of international students still exists. Like other problems in Australia it was fixed on an individual level, as opposed to the overall system.
Now this mixed with the xenophobia and racism that are here means that we are ripe for exploitation with little support from the general public and lawmakers. Some examples of the systemic problems include the fact that international student visas are the most expensive visas at over four hundred dollars each, as a visa condition we have to get private health coverage, and unlike local students we are not granted concession to ride on the trams. The list goes on, but I think you get the idea.
The other day some 60 international postgraduate students from CQU went on a hunger strike and protested at the DIC (Department of Immigration and Citizenship, finally a ministry that has an appropriate name). Apparently they are allowed to stay, but the problem of substandard education and exploitation of international students still exists. Like other problems in Australia it was fixed on an individual level, as opposed to the overall system.
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