In Australia, economic interests are the driving force behind universities' international education, with research suggesting global education inequalities are worsening rather than being reduced.
An analysis of international student numbers reveals that enrollment patterns Down Under are independent of the needs of the country of origin. Factors such as gross domestic product (GDP), education funding and gross enrollment rates have little or no impact on foreign participation in Australian degree programs.
Its proximity to Australia makes little difference. “We might have expected Australia to fill the void left by countries with lower GDP or less spending on education,” the authors wrote in a paper published on the EdArXiv Preprints platform. There is. “If anything, the data shows that students from higher GDP countries in the region are particularly likely to study at Australian universities.
“This is not surprising given the level of international student fees charged by Australian universities. Individual ability to pay is the most important predictor.”
The study found that Australian university admission rates vary widely, ranging from 403 per 100,000 people in Singapore to less than 5 per 100,000 in Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand.
In the Pacific region, Australian university admission rates ranged from 336 per 100,000 people in Nauru to 13 per 100,000 in Papua New Guinea. In South Asia, cases ranged from 266 per 100,000 people in Bhutan to less than 4 per 100,000 people in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
The paper argues that for the people of China, whose GDP and tertiary education enrollment rate are approximately twice that of Southeast Asia, it is strategically meaningless for China to have “approximately twice as many students per capita studying at Australian universities.” Suggests. The proportion from Nepal is 24 times that of India's neighboring countries.
“Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest GDP, the lowest tertiary education enrollment, and the lowest proportion of the population accessing the Australian university system,” the authors note. “Given population projections and Africa’s future global importance in the global economy, isn’t it in Australia’s interest to contribute to Africa’s development through higher education?”
Lead author Richard Heller, emeritus professor of public health at Newcastle University, said he was not surprised by the results. However, the “lack of both positive and negative'' relationships with indicators from other countries, especially education expenditure as a percentage of GDP, were conspicuous.
“We were interested in documenting that because we don't think that's an ethical approach to international education,” he said.
Changes to the survey to apply less “crude” national indicators, such as population aged 15 to 24 rather than overall demographics, “did not change” the findings.
The paper suggests that profits from international education at Australian universities should be used to subsidize educational opportunities for foreigners who “cannot afford the current high tuition fees”. Professor Heller said that, given the environmental impact of international travel, ideally it should be delivered overseas.
“I don't think the solution is to bring different kinds of students here. I think the solution is to develop very sophisticated online programs that bring universities in developing countries to Because it has the added benefit of getting them involved and at the same time increasing the capacity of the university.”
john.ross@timeshighereducation.com
