The man behind the Baird Report outlines his recommendations.
The Baird Report came out this week and was scathing of the inadequate protection for overseas students.
The Baird Report was commissioned by the Australian Department for Education to produce a report on the legislation that governs international education in Australia. Bruce Baird is the man behind the report and he raised a number of concerns about international education.
On discussing the recent violence and assaults on Indian students the report stated: “The recent attacks, predominantly on young Indian students, have saddened me as an Australian. I have a strong interest in Australia’s successful multicultural ethos through my involvement in refugee issues, and it is extremely disappointment to see Australia’s reputation as a safe and tolerant country damaged. I condemn these acts of violence.”
He recommends that overseas students have more support and somewhere safe to go to if problems arise. He also advises strengthening legislation to protect international students.
Of unscrupulous and fraudulent colleges that take advantage of overseas students he came up with a list of worrying concerns: “Concerns raised during consultations included reports of: false and misleading information provided by some education agents, poor quality education and training, gross over-enrolments, lack of appropriate education facilities, providers paying exorbitant commissions to education agents, limited financial scrutiny of providers, ineffective application and enforcement of regulation, low English language entry requirements, poor social inclusion of students in their institutions and the broader community, inadequate complaints and dispute handling services and some duplication between Commonwealth and states and territories leading to confusion and unnecessary regulatory burden.”
The report calls for more support for international students and an improvement in the quality and availability of information to them and stronger consumer protection strategies to protect students against fraudulent agencies. He also called for more regulation of Australia’s international education sector.
The report comes on the back of changes the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship have already made to immigration legislation. The DIAC introduced stricter English language requirements and took general occupations such as hairdressing, off the skilled occupations list to discourage students from applying for easy courses in an attempt to secure a permanent visa into Australia. It is hoped this will stop fraudulent colleges offering such general courses at high fees with the promise to secure residential visas to students.
Overall the Baird report has been welcomed by government officials and migration agents alike. Susan Wareham McGrath, a member of the Embrace Community, tells us of her reaction to the report: “I hope that the Deputy Prime Minister takes the findings of the Review seriously, and wastes no time in implementing its recommendations; particularly in the light of the current reform agenda being implemented Australia-wide across vocational and higher education.”
“The Hon Bruce Baird and his team made 40 recommendations in the report and I commend their consistent focus on developing stronger, smarter, simpler legislation and regulation, to support overseas students – which I believe is long overdue.”
Australian Education Minister Julia Gillard also welcomed the report, stating that international education was important to Australia’s reputation and that the government would work hard to ensure that the government take note of the recommendations made and act upon them.
The Baird Review into the Overseas Students Education Services Act 2000 can be accessed via the link if you wish to read the report in full. Meanwhile, if you want to discuss any aspect of the review then why not join our friendly online forum for free where you can chat, discuss and debate this and all issues relating to Australia immigration, travel and culture.
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