Australian International Education Conference
Thank you, Phil.
And thank you to Stan Grant.
Thank you Stan for the courage and the wisdom you have given us.
We are an old, old country full of wisdom if only we look for it.
A people thousands of generations old.
They are our first teachers.
First traders.
First international educators.
You can still see evidence of that in the bark paintings in Yirrkala in North-East Arnhem Land, and in the words of the Yolngu laced with the words of the Makassar.
I start by acknowledging them and all Indigenous peoples here today.
I also want to start by thanking my friend, Phil Honeywood.
Phil has forgotten more about how this sector works than I will ever know, and I am deeply indebted to you mate for all of your advice and wisdom.
Particularly in the last few months.
I know how tough things are for a lot of people here at the moment.
I will talk about that in a minute, but I want you to know things would be a lot tougher if it wasn’t for Phil.
If it wasn’t for the work he has done. For the frank and practical advice he has given me and my department. And for the changes we have made because of his advice.
So thank you mate.
I also want to acknowledge two other great mates of mine, Ben Carroll, the Victorian Minister for Education, and Tim Watts, the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Can I also recognise the Indian High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Gopal Baglay, a great friend of Australia.
And the real guest of honour here today, my dear friend, the Indian Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.
Dharmendra welcome back.
It is an honour to host you here again in Australia, and I know we are all looking forward to hearing from you in a few moments.
This is the fourth time we have caught up here or in India in the last two years.
And just like those trips, this one is jam packed. Over the next few days we will visit a bunch of universities, schools and even a child care centre where children learn Hindi.
The Australia-India Education and Skills Council will also meet in Sydney tomorrow.
When I was in India last year, I heard the story of a little girl who was left on a train.
On her own. She was four years old.
And she was left there by her parents. Hoping, I guess, that someone would find her.
Someone did find her. It was the Salaam Balaak Trust. They fed her. Housed her. Cared for her. And they educated her.
Today that little girl is a fashion designer. She has worked in Paris and in some of India’s biggest fashion houses. Now she is starting her own brand.
I didn’t just hear this story, I got to meet her, and she took me to where she grew up.
She showed me the dormitory where she slept. The classrooms where she learnt.
She showed me the place and the people who saved her. That made her.
Her name is Khushboo.
If you ever want a reminder about what good people can do, what education can do, just think of that little girl left alone on the train and the woman she has become.
I talk about the power of education all the time.
My friend Dharmendra calls what we do the “Mother Portfolio”.
The portfolio from which everything else comes.
There is a real truth in that.
A good education makes everything possible. Khushboo’s story is proof of that.
And a good education system can change more than just lives. It can change nations.
It’s changed ours.
And it’s changing India.
When I was a child less than 10 percent of young Australians had a uni degree. Now it’s almost half.
That’s changed us. We are a different country because of it. Stronger, smarter, wealthier.
Now look at what is Dharmendra is doing.
And remember this is the most populous country in the world.
Half a billion are under the age of 23. There are 260 million children at school.
India has a target that in 10 years half of all young people in their 20s will be at the equivalent of TAFE or university.
Just think about that.
I am still shocked by the audaciousness of it.
Just to put into context what this means, if it comes off, is by 2035 one in four people around the world who get a university degree will get it in India.
That is nation changing stuff.
And we have a chance to be part of that. To help.
That’s what you do. That’s what international education does.
But it’s not a one way street.
It’s not just about students coming here. It’s also about us going to them.
And we are also good at that.
10 Australian universities are doing this at the moment in 10 different countries.
Deakin has been in India for 30 years this year and now has its own stand-alone campus in GIFT City.
So has Wollongong.
It’s a model I want to see more of, and it’s a model Minister Pradhan is encouraging.
He has changed the law to make it happen.
On that note I want to recognise the work the six Innovative Research Universities are doing, exploring options for a consortium campus in India, and give a shout out to the IRU’s Paul Harris.
There are also other ways we can help, like twinning degrees. Where you do two years in one country and two years here and get a degree in both.
I know it is something Minister Pradhan is keen on.
A great example is the agreement RMIT and BITS Pilani signed in March last year. It’s now expanding to other BITS campuses and more courses.
It’s one of the areas, on Phil’s advice, that we have carved out from the student caps.
Let me talk to you about the student caps and where that’s up to.
As you know, we have made a decision to get migration back closer to pre-pandemic levels.
Part of achieving that is getting international student numbers back to pre-pandemic levels.
Just for context, there are about 10 percent more international student enrolments at university today than were before the pandemic and about 45 percent more in vocational education.
Getting back to pre-pandemic levels inevitably means making some hard and unpopular changes.
Ministerial Direction 107 is one of those. It’s a pretty blunt object.
It has advantaged some and it has hurt a lot of others.
It’s the reason a lot of universities have asked me to act and put in place caps - instead of this.
It also hasn’t done diversity any favours.
We know more than 75 per cent of Indian students go to non-Group of 8 universities, and it is those universities that have been hit hardest by Ministerial Direction 107.
And so, I have acted and introduced the Bill that’s in the Senate right now.
It’s got all the integrity measures in it that I talked about here last year and that report after report have recommended.
Things like requiring new providers to educate Australian students for two years before they can educate international students.
Things like stopping education providers from owning education agent businesses.
Things like preventing agent commissions on student transfers to remove incentives for unscrupulous agents and providers to poach students.
Things that I know you want because you have told me.
Because you know that when bad things happen in the sector it undermines your reputation.
And the Bill also has the caps.
I introduced the Bill in May this year.
I announced the individual provider caps in August.
I know not everyone is happy with it. But it is a heck of a lot better than Ministerial Direction 107.
And it’s a base to build on.
I also know you need certainty.
The legislation has now been in the Parliament for more than 160 days.
It’s time to pass the Bill and get rid of Ministerial Direction 107.
It’s also time to hear from my friend Minister Pradhan.
Last year in New Delhi we drove from the India Gate along the Katavya Path.
Past the Parliament.
To the North Block of the Secretariat where we stopped.
And we got out the car.
At the main gate of the North Block, there is a red stone column.
One of four gifted to India almost 100 years ago.
This one was gifted by Australia to celebrate the inauguration of New Delhi.
It was unveiled by Sir John Monash.
A great Australian.
And today I will get to take you to the university that bears his name.
And not just that, a university that is educating more Indian students than almost any other.
Just another example of the great and enduring bond between our two countries.
And long may that continue.
Welcome to Australia my friend.