Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has promised to bring more Chinese students into her state, where they already make up 20% of foreign enrolments.
Ms Allan made the comments in Beijing on Monday, the first day of her state visit to China, and said her Labor government’s top three priorities in China were “education, education and education”.
When asked whether she would lobby the federal Labor government to increase its foreign student cap, which was raised by almost 10% to 295,000 for this financial year, Ms Allan said she would “always say yes to international students”, 7 News reported.
“I’ve had many conversations with the Prime Minister, and the federal government knows very clearly that the position of the Victorian government is that we say yes to international students,” she said.
“I’m not going to be deterred, because it’s so important. It means jobs, it means opportunities.”
Ms Allan on Monday formalised an education partnership with China during a meeting with Communist Party official Huai Jinpeng, with priorities set out in a statement signed by her predecessor Daniel Andrews during his shadowy $82,000 visit to China in 2023.
The priorities include two-way exchanges between teachers and students, joint vocational programs, sharing of language and culture, and supporting disabled students.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll said: “Through the Victoria-China Education Working Group, we can foster deeper mutual understanding and appreciation of each other’s languages and cultures.
“Victoria looks forward to welcoming more Chinese international students while providing our own students with opportunities to learn about Chinese culture.”
Ms Allan is also set to sign two new memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreements between Chinese and Victorian universities that she said will facilitate shared teaching qualifications and student exchanges.
She is set to travel on Shanghai on Tuesday.
Ms Allan made similar promises and deals during a state visit to Indian last year, where she pledged millions to help Indian students avoid the caps, and created new pathways for permanent residency.
One in five international students in Victoria are from China, mainly concentrated in Melbourne where local university students have complained about classes being conducted entirely in Chinese as a result.
Header image: Left, right, Ms Allan in Beijing (Facebook).
