Just a few months after arriving in Sydney for a planned two-year stay, university students Maggie Zhang and boyfriend Sunny Gu sat down to make a “pros and cons” list about life in Australia, Reuters reports. On the positive side, staying to complete their Masters in Commerce at the University of Sydney would keep the couple, who had met in Australia, together. New enrolments of international students, who generally make up about 20% of all university students in Australia, grew by an average of 10% over the past two years. The slowdown in foreign student enrolments mean Australian universities are facing a revenue hit of between A$3.1 billion and A$4.8 billion (£1.7 - £2.6 billion) this year alone, Catriona Jackson, Chief Executive of Universities Australia, told Reuters. “It’s a little bit frustrating (to) not participate in real life classes,” Zhang told Reuters while packing.

Source: The Standard August 21, 2020 01:41 UTC