Kenyans hoping to pursue further studies abroad have been dealt a blow after the Australian government announced a cap on international students pursuing education in their universities.
Australia, which has the biggest international student market in the world, is host to 717,500 foreign learners, according to government data from early 2024.
This is, however, set to change beginning 2025 as the country's foreign minister, Jason Clare, announced that new enrolments would be limited to 270,000 from next year.
Clare noted that higher education was adversely affected by Covid-19 pandemic but the number of foreign students had risen by 10% compared to the pre-pandemic era.
The Australian Government is particularly concerned about the dwindling quality of foreign students getting into the country, hence the need to introduce a cap.
Some institutions in Australia had previously been accused by the government of allowing in students who lacked the proper tools to succeed while offering below-par training at the same time.
"Students are back but so are the shonks - people are seeking to exploit this industry to make a quick buck," Clare said on Tuesday.
According to Clare, the new reforms are meant to make enrolment of foreign students fairer and contain a surge in migration.
This latest development will come as a blow to Kenyans, who were only recently coming to terms with the recent student Visa changes.
The new rules, which took effect on July 1 2024, saw an increase in the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) from $70,000 (Ksh 8.9 million) to $73,150 (Ksh 9.3 million).
The Australian government also announced an increase in Fees for international student visas from $710 to $1,600.
As of June 2023, Australia had recorded 510,000 foreigners arriving in the country, including Kenyans. Latest available data shows that there were 3,400 Kenyan students enrolled at Australian Universities in 2019.
