Education
Australia tightens student visa rules as migration hits record high
Australia will begin enforcing tougher visa rules for foreign students this week as official data showed migration hit another record high, which is likely to further exacerbate an already tight rental market.
From Saturday, English language requirements for student and graduate visas will be increased, while the government will get the power to suspend education providers from recruiting international students if they repeatedly break rules.
“The actions this weekend will continue to drive migration levels down while delivering on our commitments in the migration strategy to fix the broken system we inherited,” Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said in a statement.
A new “genuine student test” will be introduced to further crack down on international students who look to come to Australia primarily to work, while the imposition of “no further stay” conditions will be used on more visitor visas.
The moves follow a raft of actions last year to close off Covid-era concessions introduced by the former government, including unrestricted working hours for international students. The government at the time said rules would be tightened for students that could halve its migrant intake over two years.
Australia boosted its annual migration numbers in 2022 to help businesses recruit staff to fill shortages after the Covid-19 pandemic brought strict border controls and kept foreign students and workers out for nearly two years.
But the sudden influx of foreign workers and students has exacerbated pressure on an already tight rental market.
Date released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed net immigration rose 60% to a record 548,800 in the year to September 30, 2023, higher than the 518,000 people in the year ending June 2023.
Overall, Australia’s population rose 2.5% – the fastest pace on record – to 26.8 million people in the year to last September.
The record migration – driven by students from India, China and Philippines – has expanded labour supply and restrained wage pressures, but it exacerbated an already tight housing market where rental vacancies hovered at record lows and elevated construction costs restricted new supply.
O’Neil said the government’s actions since September have led to a decline in migration levels, with recent international student visa grants down by 35% on the previous year.
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has said has highlighted the importance of both formal and non-formal education programs to build an illiteracy-free Bangladesh.
“Education is one of the basic human rights. Education is also the main tool of nation building,” he said in a message marking the International Literacy Day that falls on September 8.
The main aim of celebrating International Literacy Day is to make the people of the country aware and enthusiastic about education and literacy and transform them into human resources, said the Nobel Laureate.
Prof Yunus said they need to improve the communication skills of children, adolescents and youth by creating opportunities to learn one or more languages in addition to acquiring literacy in their mother tongue.
Multilingual literacy creates strong connections between countries, cultures and languages.
“By improving our communication skills, individual quality of life, national development and peace will be accelerated. The theme of this year’s International Literacy Day points towards achieving that,” Prof Yunus said.
He said education is the main vehicle of nation building and the first step of education is literacy.
“Hopefully, the concerned government and non-governmental organizations will always strive to implement the adopted programs as well as take effective steps to achieve the target of literacy and ensure quality education for all. That is why I call on all concerned to work together,” Prof Yunus said.
He wished all the programs undertaken on the occasion of “International Literacy Day-2024” all success.
“I am glad to know that like other countries of the world, Bangladesh is also celebrating ‘International Literacy Day-2024.
Since 1967, the annual celebrations of International Literacy Day (ILD) have taken place on 8 September around the world to remind policy-makers, practitioners, and the public of the critical importance of literacy for creating more literate, just, peaceful, and sustainable society.
Literacy is a fundamental human right for all. It opens the door to the enjoyment of other human rights, greater freedoms, and global citizenship.
Literacy is a foundation for people to acquire broader knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, and behaviours to foster a culture of lasting peace based on respect for equality and non-discrimination, the rule of law, solidarity, justice, diversity, and tolerance and to build harmonious relations with oneself, other people and the planet.
This year, ILD will be celebrated under the theme of “Promoting multilingual education: Literacy for mutual understanding and peace”.
There is a pressing need to harness the transformative potential of literacy for promoting mutual understanding, social cohesion, and peace. In today’s world, in which multilingualism is a common practice for many, empowering people by adopting a first language-based, multilingual approach to literacy development and education is particularly effective for its cognitive, pedagogical, and socio-economic benefits. Such an approach can help promote mutual understanding and respect, while solidifying communal identities and collective histories, according to UNESCO.
The “2024 International Friendship City Youth Leaders Dialogue with Jiangxi” program, themed “Contribute with Youth Power and Build a Better World Together,” was successfully held, featuring participation from Bangladeshi representatives invited by local government authorities.
The day-long dialogue took place on Monday in Nanchang, the capital of China’s Jiangxi Province, under the chairmanship of Fan Yong, Director General of the Jiangxi Provincial Foreign Affairs Office.
The event was organized by the Jiangxi People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Jiangxi Youth Federation, and the Jiangxi China Vocational Education Society, in collaboration with the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
Speakers at the opening ceremony included Shen Xin, Vice President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Shi Ke, Vice Governor of the Jiangxi Provincial Government, and Mehdi Nadi, First Vice Chairman of the Iran-China Friendship Association, among other dignitaries.
During the forum, three sub-forums were held simultaneously, where youth representatives exchanged ideas. They shared stories of their experiences, discussed development plans to help young people realize their life’s value through vocational education, and aimed to enhance cultural heritage. Additionally, they explored opportunities for cultural exchanges and shared ideas and opinions on implementing international projects.
After the dialogue, foreign youth representatives visited various sites across Jiangxi Province, including Jiujiang, Jingdezhen, Qian, and Ganzhou, to gain firsthand experience of the province’s economic development, scientific and technological innovation, rural revitalization, environmental protection, and other projects.
Over 200 youth representatives from 22 countries, including Bangladesh, Iran, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal, Russia, France, Hungary, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, and Madagascar, participated in the dialogue.
Hundreds of thousands participated in student protests across Dhaka, Chattogram, and other regions yesterday, with the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital becoming the epicenter of the movement.
From a massive gathering at the Shaheed Minar, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement coordinators declared their “one-point demand” for the resignation of the current government. They also called for the establishment of an “acceptable and inclusive” national government.
Crowds began to assemble at the Shaheed Minar from 2 pm, swelling to over a thousand students by 2:45 pm. Shortly after, a procession of freedom fighters joined, adding more than a hundred people. By 3:10 pm, a significant number of students from Jhigatala arrived, followed by nearly double that number from Shantinagar and Badda. By 3:45 pm, the surrounding streets were packed with students and supporters.
Rickshaw pullers joined the protests, chanting slogans alongside teachers, musicians, architects, doctors, and other professionals. Parents arrived with their children, many wearing red-green bandanas and carrying flags.
Around 5:30 pm, Nahid Islam, on behalf of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, read a statement highlighting the reasons for their demand:
- Under the current government’s orders, indiscriminate mass killings have occurred, sparing no one—women, children, students, teachers, or workers.
- Instead of prosecuting these atrocities, the government is arbitrarily arresting and torturing students and the public.
- Law enforcement agencies used lethal firearms to carry out these killings.
- Students, teachers, workers, and the general public believe impartial justice and investigation are not possible under this government.
Thus, the movement declared a one-point demand for the resignation of the current autocratic government and the formation of an acceptable and inclusive national government.
Protesters concluded their program around 6 pm, tying red clothes on the faces of the Raju Memorial and Joy Bangla Joy Tarunya Sculptures on their way from Shaheed Minar to Shahbagh. They then gathered at the Shahbagh intersection around 7 pm, chanting slogans.
Despite Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s offer for talks, the students have no plans to meet with the government, according to a coordinator. Reports indicate that the PM has tasked three senior Awami League leaders to communicate with the protest coordinators.
Protests and occasional violence occurred in other areas as well. Students, teachers, and locals protested in Mirpur-10, Basundhara, Shantinagar, and Science Lab areas of Dhaka.
In Mirpur, Basundhara, and Science Lab areas, protests were peaceful, but other regions saw sporadic clashes. A man named Jahangir Alam, 45, died amid clashes between police and protesters in Gazipur’s Sreepur.
In Chattogram, thousands gathered in the New Market area, chanting for justice for their slain classmates. In Narayanganj, protesters blocked roads near the Chashara intersection at around 11:30 am. Students from various institutions started a procession from Chashara Shaheed Minar along Bangabandhu Road towards the No-2 Railway Gate.
In Rajshahi, students and locals blocked the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway at 10 am, chanting slogans with the support of university teachers, lawyers, and professionals.
In Cumilla, at least 30 people were injured, including five with bullet wounds, as Jubo League and Swechchhasebak League activists allegedly attacked protesters near the Police Lines area around 1:30 pm.
