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A new survey of international students stranded offshore has found 93 per cent have experienced significant adverse mental health impacts by not being allowed into Australia to study on-campus.
The Council of International Students Australia survey, released on Wednesday, also found 36 per cent, or one of every three respondents, are now considering or have decided to study in a different country.
The poll of more than 600 students was conducted in March.
CISA national president Belle Lim said her organisation has been contacted incessantly by worried stranded students over the past 12 months.
She said their online learning experiences have been marred by technical difficulties, having to work across time zones, and the overall uncertainty about when they can return to on-campus learning.
A new survey of more than 6,000 prospective international students suggests they want face-to-face learning, with 39 per cent of respondents likely to switch destinations if it means they could access it earlier.
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Only seven per cent of aspiring international students say they would continue with Australian courses if they re fully online, according to a new survey, with 43 per cent saying they would defer until they could study face-to-face.
Most international students have been unable to enter the country under Australia s COVID-19 border restrictions, with February data from the government showing international student enrolments are down 12 per cent at universities.
The new survey of more than 6,000 prospective students by recruitment agency IDP Connect suggests international students want face-to-face learning, with 39 per cent of respondents likely to switch destinations if it means they could access it earlier.
Victorian Acting Premier James Merlino has written to the federal government seeking approval for a proposal that would allow international students to return.
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Their arrival at Charles Darwin University on Tuesday, which was marked by a traditional smoking ceremony, could pave the way for more overseas students travelling to Australia to study.
Francois Brassard is from Canada but was living in Hong Kong before his arrival. He said the decision to travel thousands of kilometres for his education was bittersweet.
Their arrival at CDU was marked by a traditional smoking ceremony.
SBS News/ Aneeta Bhole
“At this point, I had to choose between either going back home for an extended period of time and then being stuck there for perhaps half a year or even a year, or studying,” he told SBS News.