By DIRK MULDER

The Association of Australian Education Representatives in India has called on the Australian government to ramp-up support for the international education industry.

President Ravi Lochan Singh said the call followed a summit of agents to address the impact of COVID-19 and was “unanimous across the membership.”

The agents say they need a clear message that Australia is open to international students to study on-shore in 2021, “with or without” a vaccine. They warn without it students will look to the UK and Canada.

Their association also calls for;

*  a 25 per cent across the board reduction in international student fees

* a 12-month extension of post study work rights for major cities as well as regional centres

* PSWR for international students completing PG diplomas and masters, to bring Australia in-line with the UK, Canada and New Zealand

* a 25 per cent cut in fees for on-line courses. “There is ample evidence now that the experience of studying online is not the same as face-to face,” Mr Singh says.

Dirk Mulder is CMM’s international education correspondent