Regional Universities and International Students: The Incongruities On 30 April 2016, the Australian Government launched Australia’s first national strategy for international education, which sets out a 10-year blueprint for ‘developing Australia’s role as a global leader in education, training and research’. The articles and speeches on the strategy appear fantastic, especially the lines that encourage international students to consider attending regional universities. Attesting to that, the 2016 report of Deloitte Access Economics on the value of international education to Australia also highlights the numerous benefits to the regional economy and development. Encouragements to attend regional universities are easily given, but actions to ensure that the students’ priority needs are met in those regions are not in proportion. The difference between the urban and rural living cannot be over emphasized. However, living in the city is not a reflection of societal class, it is just a choice. Some may feel the urge to settle in the rural areas for health reasons, to be miles away from the stress of city life, and for some it is cheaper. Others may believe they have more to gain by staying within the city boundaries. However, each decision has its plusses and minuses. Some students enjoy the deafening screeches of tyres, the ardent honkers doing an incredibly good job of rousing the whole neighbourhood from sleep. What an efficient wake-up alarm? Let’s try to understand the distinctive milieu of the rural area and analyse its defects in the life of an international student. Snuggling my pillow, I cannot help but ponder on what Jules Renard said ‘On earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it’, and then a scene strikes me. I can see him sipping on a French wine, while taking a walk, throwing gazes here and there. Butterflies float all around, birds chirping and nestling on thickets, with acres of land stretching, touching the blue sky. Obviously, Jules did not have to be on the lookout for incoming taxis; neither was he bothered that some random pedestrian rushing to his place of work might bump into him and spill his wine. From the foregoing, it is crystal clear that the pieces of heaven on earth Jules was referring to have nothing to do with the vagaries of urban life settlement. I was used to a world that had become a karaoke, both literally and figuratively, whether it was emanating from the confinement of home, the neighbour, or the honker that had deafly refused to get his palm off the car horn. Then, this constant trend did not seem to be that bad, after all, it was just some noise, and it would eventually subside. At least, that was my conclusion until I took a walk through the countryside like my pal, Jules. The tranquillity of my walk through Armidale was nothing short of transformative, not only did my thoughts get more lucid, I felt relaxed, revitalised and rejuvenated as well. Significant studies have highlighted the prejudicial effects of noise and the health benefits of some peace and serenity. Mobile phone ringing, including the blaring of horns has the ability

to surge blood pressure, and noisy environment takes toll on memory recollection, simply put, it affects how we remember things. Scientists for human cognitive and brain sciences found out that in a noisy environment, short-term memory can become distorted and overloaded because the part of the brain that processes memory recollection is the same one that handles noise. Residing in a rural area affords you these benefits; this is the most important factor of being in a rural area, it gives you a clearer head, quiet environment to study and in so doing enhances the attractiveness of your CGPA. If tranquillity is to be harnessed and sold, I am sure its waiting list will make organ recipient lists look like a joke. What do we call a rural area? It is any place with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants, and not located adjacent to an urban area. The terms ‘rural’ and ‘rural area’ mean any open country, or any place, town, village, or city which is not part of or associated with an urban area and which has a population not in excess of 5,000-20,000 inhabitants. It also means an area that is defined, identified, or otherwise recognised as rural by a governmental agency of the state in which the area is located. What do we call an urban area? Think of over 20,000 sophisticated metal horses, speeding alongside each other, Wow!!! It’s chilling! Urban equals congestion. In an urban area, half of the population owns a car and drives it to work every day. This is the grind of urban life, having to wake up very early and inevitably getting entangled in a traffic gridlock; ultimately resulting to lateness, be it to your place of work, school or any place of importance. The inevitability of playing sitting duck in your car every morning, apparently, increases your exposure to stress and creates a disgruntled personality; you have to agree with me, nobody wants to sit with Mr. Grumpy in class. Not that the state of traffic in the countryside is extraordinarily good, but when compared to its counterpart, it is significantly lower. After all I can get to class in 10 mins in Armidale! Stress Gone! However as much as the benefits of residing in the countryside seem astonishingly attractive, there exist some cumbersome factors that will vitiate its distinct beauty. While the cost of realty is relatively cheaper in the local areas, the costs of goods and services are often higher than in the cities, owing to some debilitating factors. International students have to bear the trend. Rural areas characterised by the migration of young people usually have diminutive population with high older age range. In some areas, these declines in population capacity coincide with a decline in key corporations and the services they render, both public and private. In turn, such changes may make living in rural areas less attractive to young people and students, and further impact upon the wellbeing and sustainability of the remaining community. Critically, the problems here are youth migration and depopulation, unemployment, and increase in educational pit-stops.

A quick look at these contributing factors and you can almost see the genetic link, like one big happy family. These factors are fused together like Siamese twins, each one’s occurrence giving rise to the other. Majority of Australians do not live in the rural areas but in the cities. Those who do live in the rural area do so because they may be agrarians, prefer the local lifestyle and love the landscape, or are employees in one of the very few corporations situated in the rural part of the country. For an area that is predominantly an agrarian community, there is not much to offer all the young bloods. Obviously, not everyone wants to get their hands dirty with mud, let alone cow dung, or any excreta of some sorts. This particular issue creates a situation whereby the limited job openings are agriculture related or care delivery services for the older population that makes up the area. These jobs are ‘fiercely’ contested between the Australians and international students, although there is a limit for the international students as citizens take priority in job considerations. In effect, there is no suitable job for every student to relate to. For some students that sponsor their own education, the absence of a nice job or even any job will pose a serious problem in their educational pursuit. As well placement for student internship programs would also be hard to come by. Students in rural areas are more likely to face problems pertaining to access and have limited choices in their quest to complete their education. Students in urban areas are luckier and have limitless access to jobs and internship programs. Therefore, people residing in rural areas have been identified as a deprived group that need direct and specific policies for the enhancement of equal opportunity and increase in their participative effort in education. As identified earlier, the rural areas have been plagued by massive youth migration, and the reduction can be attributed to lack of employment opportunities, every year, young people move to find work or to study. Likewise, same trends stimulate outflow of international students to major cities after initial influx and period of study. International students in regional areas are peculiarly likely to be forced to move because of the greater chance they stand at securing employment and education in major cities. When there is no job for students to take up in order to augment the little they have and the little they make (if any), they tend to run low on capital for goods and services. The primary motive would then be to seek out new grazing field; a greener pasture to alleviate their suffering. Significant percentage of the students might stay back due to the perceived low cost of living while others relocate to urban universities. Upon graduation, majority of the students move in droves out of the rural areas to urban cities for jobs. I wonder how sustainable regional development can be achieved. This is migration, and when thousands of youths including students shift base, it entails depopulation. This casts a shadow over regional economic development. The sparseness of the population distribution means that, in some instances, one would have to drive miles just to get to hospital to meet the requirements for student visa renewal. It is quite a feat to achieve for a student that has no job, I wonder how that can be realised, and while I am dead sure humans cannot teleport. It exposes students to danger; I am talking about the mortal danger. In case of unpleasant eventuality, it can take hours to get help, which the victim might not be lucky to have.

Further, judging from the setting of the environment, it exudes extreme boredom. A blessing can also be a curse. The attributes that make rural area an awesome place to stay can also project it as a depressing place to be. That moment when you are packing up your books to leave class and head home on a Friday evening; the euphoric feeling that it is Friday fills you up to the point of explosion. You do not get to go to school; you do not have to attend official meetings, just you and your time alone or party till mama calls. Pals, there is just one fantastic legitimate synonym for Friday: Boom Shakalaka!!! Now, hold that thought, absence of recreational facilities and interactive communities dampens this particular expectation. All work and no play, yeah yeah, you know the rest; Jack will be a dull guy! At a certain point in time, one needs to blow off some steam, and going to pub cannot suffice, rather alcohol intake breeds violence and shenanigans. This is where the recommendations of Deloitte Access Economics report for international education make a wonder fit: ‘the sector’s messaging should focus more on the social and cultural benefits of international education rather than just its role as one of Australia’s largest exports; education providers and government should look to build more community interaction between international students and local communities; information and media campaigns should highlight the positive stories and achievements of former international students as well as the benefits of initiatives such as homestay to the local community; and community awareness campaigns should highlight the role of international students in creating a more diverse community’. Fostering healthy interactions between international students and the Australian host communities has been the focus of CISA activities and current program development. This is a worthy course of action for any organization. But more is needed! Government intervention is essential in this case. An intervention articulated by actions. It is still a surprise that till now NSW Government has ferociously refused to budge on its decision to extend transport concessions to international students. Victoria Government is being touted and lauded to have graciously given such concessions, but in effect limited only to undergraduate students while postgraduate students are ‘graciously’ excluded. Either they are not categorised as students or the prefix, postgraduate, defines another set of alien students not accounted for by orthodox lexicons and thus, not deemed fit in concession policy. On the rural university and international students’ dilemma, a detailed policy should be initiated in the National Strategy for International Education that will target the rural university communities to set a level playing ground for the rural area students and their urban counterparts. Even if there is unequal distribution of income per capita, at least, the rural area will not be far off. With the provision of ‘employment’, the students will also have reasons to stay back. No problem is too difficult to solve, and there is no defect that cannot be corrected but requires effective initiation and implementation of appropriate policies to straighten the existing irregularities; even if it is not perfect, at least something near perfect. Maximilian Obiakor, an executive member (Postgraduate General Member and Coordinator of Regional Universities) of CISA writes from Armidale, NSW.