Foreign student arrivals surge
Education loophole depriving teachers of regional incentive
CAIRNS remains an attractive destination for foreign students with numbers to the region growing each year.
Tourism and Events Queensland recently released an international visitor snapshot for last year, which revealed that one in 24 were education visitors.
While most were holidaymakers, the figures reveal that the international education sector had increased by 9 per cent in three years.
Study Cairns president Carol Doyle said she was confident the numbers for Cairns would reflect similar growth.
“This would also mean that at least one in 24 international visitors to Cairns are here for the purpose of education, not just tourism,” she said.
“It shows that the interest in Cairns as an education destination is just increasing.”
Ms Doyle said that only 10 per cent of international students who come to Cairns enrolled in long-term study.
“About 90 per cent of students come on tourist and working holiday visas because they also allow them to study,” she said.
“Quite often those students will extend into vocational study or into university in Cairns.”
The flow-on benefits to tourism and the Cairns economy A LOOPHOLE in the state education system that allows some schools to disregard teachers’ regional and rural experience is reducing the ability
1in 24 international visitors to Cairns are here for education. per cent of students come on tourist and working holiday visas. The remaining 10 per cent are enrolled in long-term study. were monumental, she said, with 28 per cent enjoying a charter boat, cruise or ferry service, while 17 per cent visited a reef.
“It demonstrates that international students benefit the tourism industry,” Ms Doyle said.
“International students studying in cairns each year equates to $45,000 direct expenditure in Cairns per year.
The Cairns international student market has been growing for 20 years and Ms Doyle said 2016 figures showed it was worth about $150 million to the Cairns economy.
The snapshot revealed that the main markets choosing to study in Queensland were China, Japan, the US and Korea.
“For us it’s also Indian and Papua New Guinea,” she said.
“Study Cairns has just put together some strategic plans to increase those numbers further over the next few years.” of North Queensland schools to attract staff.
In the Queensland public system, teachers who opt to work in remote areas can accrue points that enable them to transfer to metropolitan areas.
But union officials say an exemption granted to Independent Public Schools that allows them to disregard remote area experience was reducing the incentive for teachers to move to North Queensland. Get more of what you love with
“The bottom line is that IPS don’t have to accept someone based on the points that teacher has accrued, which undermines the entire system,” Queensland Teacher’s Union vice-president Sam Pidgeon Rewards Members only. Redeem now at said. “We are worried the impact on the transfer system will get worse and this will affect the ability of regional schools to attract teachers.”
There are 250 IPS and 1000 public schools in Queensland.
Katter’s Australian Party state leader Robbie Katter has called on the Government to roll back the exemption.
“Remote schools have to work extremely hard to attract the best teachers,” he said.
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