Thousands of university jobs could be at risk as a ban on Chinese students entering the country continues amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The Australian government extended the two-week travel ban from mainland China to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 for another seven days this week.
The travel halt means that 100,000 international students are unable to attend Australia’s universities.
Nearly one in four workers in academia are casual, meaning they could easily be sacked if student numbers decline.
The national academic union has called for vice-chancellors to guarantee their jobs.
Alison Barnes of the National Tertiary Education Union said: ‘We’ve written to university vice-chancellors, asking them to commit that those casuals who would normally be working from day 1 of semester will not be worse off as a result of timetable changes due to coronavirus.’
Thousands of university jobs could be at risk as a ban on Chinese students entering the country continues amid the coronavirus outbreak
The Australian government extended the two-week travel ban from mainland China to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 for another seven days this week
In 2017/18 foreign university students accounted for about $32 billion being generated in the Australian economy as a knock on effect, according the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Their fees and living expenses represent Australia’s third biggest export behind only iron ore and coal according to government trade figures.
Nearly one third of those stuck in China and will look to other places to go to university, a survey conducted by the Education Consultants Association of Australia found.
Of 16,000 students surveyed, 32 per cent said they would enroll in another country if they could not complete the first semester of 2020 in Australia, SBS reported.
Canada and UK have no travel bans in place.
Universities and the $37.9billion higher education industry could be thrown into chaos if the international students are unable to return in time for the semester.
China, Australia’s biggest trading partner, is the No.1 source of international students.
They made up 38.3 per cent of foreign education enrollments in 2018, with Department of Education figures showing 152,591 were studying in Australia.
Almost a third of Australia’s international students could be lost to other countries if the coronavirus travel ban remains in place from China. Pictured: people in Sydney wearing face masks in January following news about the coronavirus outbreak
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday extended a travel ban by another week for people travelling to Australia from China
Some Australian universities have already delayed the start of the semester due to the coronavirus, but international students could look elsewhere.
When asked where they would redirect their studies, 58 per cent of students chose the UK, 31 per cent chose Canada and six per cent picked the US.
The study, conducted between February 5 and February 9 on WeChat, surveyed 73 per cent of students who had already been studying in Australia.
With classes set to resume in March there are still 100,000 students stuck in China.
Group of Eight (Go8) chief executive Vicki Thomson said the findings are concerning as major competitors, the UK and Canada, did not have travel bans.
‘This could be a lost opportunity,’ she said.
Ms Thomson said the loss of students could result in a loss of $3billion in fees instantly if Chinese students don’t come to Australia.
Federal education Minister Dan Tehan acknowledged extended bans could cause a major disruption.
‘It’s very much wait and see what happens,’ Mr Tehan told Sky News on Sunday.
‘But my hope is that we will see some sort of a breakthrough and we will be able to get students here for the first semester, but we will have to wait and see.’
Meanwhile, the Australian government is sending a medical expert to Japan to assist authorities with growing concerns for passengers on the cruise ship quarantined off Yokohama because of the coronavirus.
Foreign travellers who have recently left or passed through mainland China are currently banned from entering our shores. Pictured are visitors arriving in Brosbane before the ban was implemented.
The infectious disease expert will join an international team to gather information about the passengers, including the 200 Australians on board the Diamond Princess.
US citizens on the Diamond Princess cruise ship who are confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus will not be taken back to the United States on a planned charter flight after all, a Japanese government official said.
The US said earlier on Saturday it would send an aircraft to Japan to bring back US passengers on the Diamond Princess, where the most coronavirus infections outside China have occurred.
The Australian Embassy in Tokyo has since emailed citizens aboard the cruise ship to state the federal government is also examining options to assist Australians.
The Maritime Unions of Australia is concerned its members are being put at risk by the arrival of container vessels from mainland China, which it says in some cases are docking in breach of the travel ban.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has raised this issue with the government and the chief medical officer, and has been assured they are aware of the situation.
‘We need to be vigilant and make sure the health of Australians is the number one priority,’ Mr Albanese told reporters in Perth.
In China, the total number infected by the virus rose to more than 66,000 on Saturday, with the number of deaths passing 1500.
A total of 1700 Chinese health workers who have been infected, with six deaths.
No quarantined Australians at Christmas Island and Darwin have tested positive for the virus, with the first group of evacuees due to return home on Monday.
The Australian Border Force is making arrangements to transfer those quarantined on Christmas Island once they have been medically cleared.
Of the 15 coronavirus cases in Australia, six have been given the all clear as healthy and the remaining nine are all stable.
Up to 100,000 international students will be unable to return to Australia in time for the start of semester if the travel ban is extended