In one of the few bright spots for the economy, universities set another record with 21.7 per cent growth in new students in March, driven by a 40 per cent leap in enrolments by Indian students and a 19.6 per cent jump among Chinese students.
University leaders yesterday simultaneously welcomed the surprise figures, saying they were "remarkable", but warned against downgrading formal calls for $9.7 billion in renewal funding for cash-strapped universities in next Tuesday's budget.
Universities have suffered a calamitous $800 million loss in investment income since world finance markets collapsed last September, with leading institutions the University of Melbourne and the University of NSW yesterday revealing they had been ravaged by the financial crisis.
Universities Australia chief executive Glenn Withers told The Australian yesterday that vice-chancellors had been "worried" that overseas demand would be down as the recession hit the finances of Asian families.
"(But) there is a flight to security through tertiary training in uncertain times -- both domestically and globally," Dr Withers said.
He attributed the strong result to the quality of Australian education, and an even greater priority that Asian families, traditionally great investors in their children's education, were making in education in uncertain times.
However, Dr Withers said he was worried that the Rudd Government could use the figures to justify putting off the massive investment in university teaching and research recommended by its own recent Bradley and Cutler reviews.
"Domestic and international students are increasingly accepting an education environment where we are stretching resources," he said.
"This is a crucial time for government to not defer the implementation of the Bradley recommendations, which were recommendations for good times and bad.
"If they defer the investment now they run the risk of killing the goose that has laid the golden egg."
The Universities Australia spokesman on international issues, University of Tasmania vice-chancellor Daryl Le Grew, said the figures would give universities "a real charge, because everyone was fearing the meltdown would result in a slackening of commencements".
"There are still risks -- there could be lag time in the downturn of economies overseas -- but the figures give us reason to be cautiously optimistic about enrolments over the next three to five years," Professor Le Grew said.
Commencements in vocational education and English language colleges were up 31 and 9 per cent respectively on last year.
But commencements in secondary schools were down 1 per cent.
A spokeswoman for Education Minister Julia Gillard said yesterday that the figures were "certainly encouraging for the sector in these difficult economic times and show the strength of the sector".
Export education was Australia's third-largest export behind coal and iron ore, the spokeswoman said
Source:The Australian
Release date: 7 May 2009