Education Department ditches plan to lure Chinese students to top public schools

A scheme to entice parents of gifted pupils in China to pay for places at Perth’s most sought-after public schools that was quietly shelved during the pandemic will not be revived. In 2019, The West Australian revealed a controversial Education Department plan to offer places at top public schools for selected Year 9 students who excelled at entry exams held in China. Seven Perth schools which are in high demand were expected to take Chinese students paying up to $18,500 a year to attend — prompting criticism that local students could be disadvantaged. The schools — Applecross, Churchlands, Willetton and Rossmoyne senior high schools, Shenton College, John Curtin College of the Arts and Bob Hawke College — would have been allocated up to 35 students a year under the program. The scheme was aimed at increasing the number of international students studying in Perth. The department sent two public school principals to China in late 2019 to take part in workshops promoting the scheme in Beijing, Nanjing, Chengdu and Guangzhou. But the plan to hold exams in China in early 2020 for the first group of students was put on ice when travel restrictions were imposed as cases of COVID-19 surged. At the time, the Education Department said the program had been delayed “due to the implications of the novel coronavirus”. However, the department has now revealed it has “no current plans” to introduce a selective entry program for international students. Instead, it would focus on growing international student numbers across the public school sector. “Noting the impact of COVID on international education, with the opening of the State’s border in March 2022, the Department of Education reviewed its approach to international education and developed an international education program which focuses on supporting the sustainable growth of international education in public schools,” a spokesperson said. “This has a focus on public schools delivering international programs to students from around the world.” The department’s website says 45 secondary schools currently deliver an international education program to student visa holders. Of those, Applecross SHS is the only one of the seven in-demand schools from the dumped selective entry program to be included.