Hundreds of vocational and English colleges are at risk of closure,the sector says.

Hundreds of vocational and English colleges are at risk of closure,the sector says.Credit:Joe Armao

The private college sector – which educates about 75 per cent of the country’s vocational students – has been heavily targeted by the government’s crackdown on dodgy providers,as well as its broader strategy to slash migration through reduced international student numbers.

On top of the closure of hundreds of vocational colleges,the peak body for independent education providers also expects a smaller number – less than 20 – of private universities are facing closure.

The Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia chief executive Troy Williams said job losses across the sector were now a daily occurrence and were expected to continue over the coming year.

“These are rough times for quality independent[registered training organisations] and higher education providers that have supported a large number of international students,” he said.

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“Neither side of politics offers hope to international students wanting to come to Australia. The government’s policy settings,and the alternative approach set out by the opposition,will see less international students coming to Australia with the result of reduced employment across the skills training and higher education sectors.

“[We] want the government and opposition to stop playing political football with international education. We need a long-term and cohesive strategy for international education,not a series of short-term decisions based upon political expediency.”

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The peak body’s closure projections are based on the impact of the current visa crackdown,current domestic enrolments and the further business pressure likely to be caused by the proposed enrolment caps.

In an escalation of the government’s migration crackdown,Labor introduced a bill to parliament last week that would allow it to cap international enrolments for providers and individual courses.

The proposed laws come on top of tightened visa approval process for international students,with rejections for countries including India and Pakistan reaching record highs,andtough new rules targeting vocational colleges to stamp out visa rorting and“ghost colleges” with few or no students.

The rule changes followed areview by former Victorian police chief Christine Nixon –prompted by reporting byThe Age,TheSydney Morning Herald and60 Minutes – who found student visas were being systemically defrauded to funnel vulnerable temporary migrants into low-skilled and illegal work.

In a recent letter to education agents,private college Acknowledge Education said due to visa approval data it would not accept any new offshore applications from the Philippines,Nepal,India,Pakistan,Sri Lanka,Bhutan,Bangladesh and every African country. It offers vocational education courses as well as higher education qualifications.

The college,which has campuses in Sydney,Melbourne,Perth and Brisbane,joins agrowing list of education providers and universities who have started to block applications from certain countries in the face of increased scrutiny on providers who recruit students who want to work instead of study.

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Private colleges,along with three public universities,comprise the vast majority of the bottom-tier institutions in the government’s “risk rating” system,which determines the ease and speed visas are granted for students at different institutions.

A high rate of visa rejections contributes to a higher risk rating,resulting in universities restricting applications from students deemed a higher risk of visa refusal.

In the current financial year up to April,the Department of Home Affairs issued 40,525 visas for students at vocational colleges,down on 128,000 in the same period last year.

The visa crackdown and student cap are central to Labor’s pledge to slash net annual migration from 528,000 last year to 260,000 by next year,which is largely relying on cutting international student numbers.

Education Minister Jason Clare said international education was a valuable national asset and the government needed to make sure it retained its “social licence”.

“Our reforms will help to set it up for the future,ensure quality and integrity and provide certainty for international education providers,” he said.

Melanie Macfarlane,executive director of the International Student Education Agents Association,said the government’s approach to visa rejections has been chaotic and inconsistent.

“Some VET[vocational education and training] sector private providers literally believe government is trying to force them to all close,” she said.

“There is a sense that government thinks all will be well after the elections and everyone will come flooding back in. However many are looking at other destinations that are freer with their visa systems and work rights.”

Macfarlane said her migration and education business used to send 2000 students per year to Australia,but won’t be sending any for the foreseeable future.

“The restrictions on nationalities seems to be expanding – I’ve heard of refusals for Swedish,French,Spanish,Italian and UK citizens. It seems fairly random,although the majority still are the targeted ones such as India,Nepal and Colombia,” she said.

“The economic repercussions are very concerning as we all know of the value to the wider economy of international students,and we’re all concerned this will push the country into recession.”

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