Transnational Student-Migrants and the State

The Production of the Indian Student: Regimes and Imaginaries of Migration, Education, Labour, Citizenship and Class

“…example Forbes-Mewett 2005 andDeumert et al 2005), and various levels of local, state and federal government also began, in a limited way, to treat students as partial citizens rather than transient consumers (Robertson 2013). These expansions in understandings of student welfare and citizenship were, however, still frequently undercut by marketisation logics, with both government agencies and student advocacy groups frequently linking the protection of students' rights with the protection of Australia's 'export' market for education (Robertson 2011).…”

“…The presence of large numbers of Indian international students in Australia throughout the 2000s is clearly linked to the global phenomenon that has been termed 'the educationmigration nexus' (Robertson 2013). The education-migration nexus involves the interlinking of international education and migration policy, and in most contexts involves the granting of particular privileges towards ongoing work and residency rights to the international graduates of local higher education institutions.…”

“…Although Australia was one of the first countries to implement these policies (initially granting extra immigration 'points' for international students in 1998), Western student destination countries around the world have implemented similar policies at various times, which either explicitly or implicitly favour international graduates as temporary or permanent migrants, and grant significant work rights to student visa holders. Countries with aging populations, key skills gaps and higher education sectors with large numbers of international students were most likely to adopt some form of education-migration nexus policy throughout the early 2000s, although the nature and extent of policies have varied greatly over time and across different national and regional contexts (Robertson 2013).…”

“…The relatively generous work and migration options Australia provided to international students were strongly linked to the ongoing competition for students and skilled labour with other Englishspeaking destination countries like Canada, New Zealand, the US and the UK, as well as to the rise in the mid-to late 2000s of Asian countries in the international education market. market also had the consequence of shifting the identities (both real and perceived) of students coming from India as less well-resourced and more lower middle class than previous waves of students, and from regional areas rather than major urban centres (Robertson 2013).…”

“…These labour market positions did not magically dissipate to make way for skilled roles once students graduated -in fact, there is significant evidence that it was often difficult for former students to gain skilled work (Gribble & Blackmore 2012) and many had to take on any job available in order to repay study debts and finance ongoing living costs (Robertson 2013, Robertson & Runganakailoo 2013. These labour market processes led to the stereotypical trope, increasingly common as a cultural referent in Within labour hierarchies in the host country such identities intersect in different ways with language, class, race and ethnicity in terms of how workers' value and power are subsequently constructed, both within specific workplaces and within broader labour geographies (Datta & Brickell 2009, Cook, Dwyer & Waite 2011.…”