SYDNEY - Top Australian universities warned on Friday that Chinese students may walk away from courses Down Under after Canberra extended a coronavirus travel ban, in a major blow to the multi-billion-dollar sector.
"We can't give our students any certainty as to when they can actually come here. So there is a risk of students choosing not to come here," Ms Thomson said.Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Thursday that the ban would be extended for at least another week, drawing the ire of China, which branded the move an"overreaction".
Swelling Chinese enrolment numbers - up from fewer than 23,000 in 2003 during the Sars outbreak to more than 150,000 in 2018 - and the timing of the coronavirus at the start of the nation's academic year meant the impact was unprecedented, she said.International education was worth A$32.4 billion to the economy in 2017-18.
The virus has killed nearly 1,400 people and infected 64,000, mainly in China. As of Friday morning, 15 cases of the virus had been detected in Australia.
No they won't. They are there to get a chance to be Aussies and stealthily get an Australian passport with another name.
C’est la vie