Australian universities now more attractive to Filipino students

Filipinos are increasingly eyeing Australian universities for further studies because of the interesting incentives they offer compared to universities in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The Philippine director of IDP Education, an organization offering student placement and English language testing services, confirmed this development, saying his office was sending more than 700 Filipinos to Australia to study this year.

“Those who are interested in studying there but can’t because of financial constraints are larger, about five times that number,” said Andrew King in an interview at a recent exhibit in Makati featuring representatives from various Australian universities.

King noted that this was a significant increase from last year’s figures, especially in the postgraduate and technical and vocational courses.

“The number of people inquiring have grown sharply—particularly in technical and vocational programs—about 42 to 45 percent in previous years. It has slowed down to 20 percent, but that’s still a strong growth,” King added.

Better incentives

Applicants are interested in taking courses in business, information technology and health care, he said.

“The middle class is growing here in the Philippines, and more people can afford overseas study. There has also been a strong marketing push by Australian institutions to get themselves known,” he said.

King said that current incentives to study in Australia were equal to or even better than those in the United States and the United Kingdom.

“In terms of education itself, it’s the generally high quality education monitored and evaluated by the government. Then it is easier to work while studying in Australia, as you can do part-time work anywhere while studying and full-time work, also anywhere, when there are no classes,” King said.

He explained that it was a comparatively better arrangement than in the United States, where students are only allowed to work on the university campus and in the United Kingdom where universities and businesses favor students from European Union-member states for work placement.

Another factor is the proximity and the fact that there are many Filipino migrants in Australia who can help relatives wanting to study there.

King noted that many Filipinos who studied in Australia came back to the Philippines to apply what they had learned there.

“They can bring back knowledge and experience of the latest technology so they can help the Philippines to develop faster,” King said.