Stop exploitation, student union tells tertiary review

[The Smoking Man]

LOL...

These are the dunderheads that we end up teaching in China.

They are students who were unable to get a position in a Chinese University and who now, as a last resort and by the grace of having rich parents, end up studying abroad.

Gone are the days of the 'smart' Chinese student in the corner of the class.

Now the fucking idiots are out in droves packing the coffers of all the universities in western countries.

Stop exploitation, student union tells tertiary review

    * Bridie Smith
    * August 6, 2008

ONE of Melbourne's key student bodies has urged the Federal Government to abolish full fees for international students, in what would be a dramatic reshaping of the multibillion-dollar international student industry.

In a detailed submission to be considered as part of a federal review of higher education, the Melbourne University Student Union also argued international students should be given access to Centrelink benefits and student concession cards.

Making such changes would stop international students being "financially exploited", the union said, adding that domestic and international students should be treated as equals.

From next year, domestic undergraduate full fee places will be phased out, with the Federal Government to fund an additional 11,000 places for local students.

"We need to change the role of international students and not just see them as a money-spinner for the sector, but as a way of building links with our counterparts internationally," student union president Libby Buckingham said.

Ms Buckingham said the way the sector treated current international students was inadequate and criticised the former coalition government for allowing universities to increase their financial reliance on international students.

"The reason these students are being brought out to Australia is to pay exorbitant fees," she said. "It's not to build relationships with Australian students, to share knowledge or to create links with our region."

Earlier this year education replaced tourism as Australia's top services export, worth $12.5 billion — a figure that made education the country's third-largest export after coal and iron ore. According to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, last year there were more than 450,000 international students studying here, 18% more than in 2006.

In its submission, Universities in Australia warned universities were "dangerously dependent on the income from international students", adding continued growth in the sector would be difficult due to competition and a high Australian dollar. It urged the government to set a national target of 2% of GDP for the higher education sector by 2015.

In another submission to the much-anticipated review of higher education, the National Union of Students has proposed students from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds have their HECS debt halved, in a bid to lift participation rates at universities.

The NUS, representing about 600,000 students, also called on the Federal Government to set a target of 75,000 students from low socio-economic backgrounds by 2012 and to reduce the age of independence from 25 to 18 to give more students access to income support.

Submissions will be considered by the Government's review of higher education, which will make recommendations by the end of the year.

[Drive By]

Dear Ms Jia

thank you for the recent gifts (of gold) Your recent essay on the influence of the French revolution on contemporary Europe was extremely informative and I congratulate Professor Wright from London School of Economics for writing it. I acknowledge the effort you made to cut and paste it from Wickipedia however we have policies in this country of plagiarism that are not as you claim ‘racist’. I believe these also exist in some other countries. We also cite work when it is not our own. However in the interests of the university (ie us being shut down in Beijing where we have a campus) I will give you a Pass.

[Polly]

No. 8 typhoon signal is hoisted.  Nothing to eat at home, except an eggplant, some salted fish, cereal (yikes) and one pan of burnt porridge (saved by me) from yesterday.  So I am going to risk my life and go out for some bread and stuff.  Life is taff.

[The Smoking Man]

You should have gone to Australia and got a good education.

You'd have servants taht would do that for you if you had.

Well that's what they tell them up here when they are trying to get them to sign up.

[Polly]

I would rather go to China, a full time servant for USD100.

Anyway, must risk my life now.  Too hungry!

[The Smoking Man]

Or you could go to Manitoba, Canada for a snack.

[Polly]

gastric juice is burning me. Stop talking to me!!

[The Smoking Man]

gastric juice is burning me. Stop talking to me!!

This will cure it:

http://chinathetimes.com/forum/index.php/topic,2809.0.html#new

[Drive By]

typhoon in hong kong. i have been through three of them.tough times. surf big wave bay or shek o. last time i did shek o and the surf nets were down and my mate swore balck and blue he saw a shrak. i ddint belevie him becasue theere are no fish left in the china sea. anyway it was 2 metre surf a bit choppy. a couple of the surf gaurds came out and surfed with us on long boards.

[The Smoking Man]

You saw Shrek???

It was Mike Meyers covered in a Chinese algae bloom.

[Drive By]

some of those beaches on the littel islands near hk arent bad. fairly clean but i always disinfect my mouth with a few san miguels.

[Polly]

With two buns inside me, I am in a better mood.

The typhoon caught us all unprepared as it was announced that even No.3 was unlikely.

Anyway here we are.

[shan]

please tell me at the first time if the typhoon is gone since our summer camp teacher is stranded in Macao and the school is expecting her to take the post the day after tomorrow , i spent a whole day to hunt for the replace teachers but failed

[Polly]

傍晚5、6時考慮改三號波
 (明報)8月6日 星期三 17:10
八號東南烈風或暴風信號仍然生效，強烈熱帶風暴    「北冕」正遠離本港，天文台    在傍晚5、6時考慮改發三號風球。

天文台在今早5時40分發出八號東北烈風或暴風信號，並於8時40分改發八號東南烈風或暴風信號。

天文台表示，本港現時平均風速每小時超過62公里。在下午4時，「北冕」集結在香港之西南偏西約180公里，預料向西北偏西移動，時速約18公里，趨向廣東西部沿岸地區。

隨著北冕逐漸遠離本港，天文台在接近傍晚時會考    慮改發三號強風信號。

在過去一小時，長洲    錄得的最高持續風速為每小時69公里，最高陣風為每小時85公里。