Page 2270 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 16 August 2006
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services can be better delivered. We should be working together to encourage more students to go into our colleges and our CIT—areas in which we can actually do something.
I think that Ms Porter’s motion is well intentioned but it does not go the whole hog. I would be happy on another occasion to debate and discuss the benefits of international students for our economy and for our education system.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation and Minister for Industrial Relations) (5.00): I commend Ms Porter on the motion and confirm the government’s view that international students do play a vital role in the life of our tertiary institutions and the broader ACT community. The Canberra community is fortunate to have access to a wide choice of institutions in which to pursue further education. We are served by four universities and three vocational education and training institutions. In 2004 there were 4,797 overseas students studying at ACT tertiary institutions, and this represents a significant involvement in the educational, economic and cultural life of our community.
The Australian National University and the University of Canberra accounted for the bulk of enrolments, with 2,739 and 1,950 students respectively. These enrolments confirm the esteem in which Canberra’s universities are regarded by the international community. Overseas students accounted for 19 per cent of total enrolments at the University of Canberra and 21 per cent at the ANU. The most recent figures available for 2003 indicate that the greatest proportion of overseas students enrolled in the ACT came from China and Hong Kong, 31 per cent, followed by Thailand, seven per cent, and Singapore, six per cent.
International students are vital to the intellectual and cultural life of our tertiary institutions. International students assist Canberrans to develop intercultural understandings and skills. They allow our local students to engage with and understand different modes of thought and different approaches to education. Interacting with international students promotes cross-cultural awareness in all students and it enhances their understanding and respect for the languages and heritages of others and encourages the use of cultural diversity as a resource.
Students are given a framework for all students to examine and appreciate their own cultural backgrounds, how cultures operate and the role that individuals and groups play in the creation and interpretation of culture. By learning together with students from other cultures our students realise that they need to challenge the basis of their assumed knowledge to understand how much of what they know is based on bias and how much is based on fact. In doing so, they learn to think more broadly and more creatively. By helping international students to engage with campus and community life in Australia, local students also gain a greater appreciation of what it means to be Australian and the values and freedoms that we hold so dear in this country. By thinking critically about our society, our students are in a better position to consider how their own studies can lead to future careers that contribute to community life as a whole.
It is worth noting that international students also make a valuable contribution to the ACT economy. In 2005 fee paying overseas students made contributions totalling close to $16 million at the University of Canberra and close to $35 million at the ANU.
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