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Sydney : International full-fee paying students are studying at some of the most over-crowded schools in Sydney at the same time as the NSW Department of Education clamps down on out-of-area enrolments.Thousands of students, some as young as 13 and predominantly from Asian countries, are finishing their studies at public schools, with a 25 per cent increase in new, full fee-paying international students in just 12 months.One of the most popular schools for international students is Chatswood High, which does not take out-of-area enrolments because it is full. Last year there were 29 international students at Willoughby Girls High, which is also full.There are more than 2000 students on a site shared between Willoughby Girls and Willoughby Public. The three hectare site was designed to accommodate just 450 students. Enrolment has boomed in schools in northern Sydney in the past five years, with most of the public comprehensive primary and high schools full or close to reaching capacity.Mosman High, which has had a 23 per cent enrolment growth in four years, has international students but is also full while at Chatswood High, overall student numbers have surged 27 per cent since 2010.Killara High, which is at capacity, also has full fee-paying foreign students.Foreign students pay up to $14,000 a year to study at NSW high schools, significantly less than private schools such as St Andrew’s Cathedral School, which charges international students $40,000 a year.The Northern Sydney Council of P&Cs last year released a detailed issues paper on overcrowding, which noted that international students could be contributing to some schools needing additional demountable classrooms.
“International students should not be placed in our schools at the expense of basic facilities for students,” the paper said.
Enrolment figures show there are 3386 international students studying in NSW public schools this year, but that figure is expected to rise because many students do not start until mid-year.A spokesman for the Education Department said schools that had reached “enrolment capacity” with local students were not permitted to accept international enrolments.”Principals enrolling an international student must confirm to the department that they are complying with this policy.”
The spokesman said if a school had the capacity to accommodate international students, enrolments could be approved.”If that capacity changes during an international student’s enrolment or just before the approved student starts school, that student will be allowed to complete their already agreed enrolment period,” the spokesman said.
“Therefore, schools no longer taking international enrolments may have some of these students transitioning through the academic year groups.”He confirmed Chatswood, Killara, Mosman and Willoughby Girls high schools were full and would not be enrolling anymore international students. The department says more than 150 public schools in NSW accept international students but could not provide a break-down on which schools had the students.The president of the NSW Secondary Principals’ Council, Lila Mularczyk, said high schools welcomed international students because they provided an “enriching experience to the rest of the school”.