The Group of Eight (Go8) represents Australia’s leading research-intensive universities with seven of its eight members ranked in the world’s top 100 universities. It also enrols 105,833 quality international students from China – one in three of the Chinese students who choose to study on-shore in Australia.
The Go8 understands and accepts the Australian Government’s decision to continue with its travel ban for another week and to review it on a weekly basis. The ban has a clear focus of keeping as many of the nation’s population as is possible, safe from exposure to coronavirus.
The Go8 however has continued to communicate with Government the extent of its concern for and educational disruption of its some 68,000 students from China who remain currently confined by the travel ban from arriving in Australia.
The Go8 will continue to work with our Government and the Chinese Embassy, our affected students and their families, on strategies to ensure that there are a range of temporary study options available so the disruption is as minimal as we can possibly make it.
Go8 universities have contacted each of their affected students. They have and will continue to produce targeted solutions for these students. Every Go8 university has mitigation strategies in place. These are to be found on University web sites and a summary is available on the Go8 website:
The Go8 is pleased with the determination of the Australian Government to work with the sector to ensure such unprecedented circumstances create the least possible long-term issues for our students, our universities and for the Australian economy.
