Australia’s Education Minister Alan Tudge has said that he is optimistic about the prospect of a rebound in the international student sector. The past 18 months have been tough for the international education sector, Tudge told the Australian International Education Conference on Oct 8. Student enrolments have declined by 70 percent since this time in 2019 for English language providers, whereas enrolments for public universities as a whole has declined by 17 percent. “Those providers that have been more dependent on the Indian, Nepalese, and Vietnamese—as opposed to the Chinese market—have also been hit very hard,” Tudge said. However, the federal education minister is optimistic about the path forward given national vaccination rates have been increasing. Australia is getting close to achieving 70 and 80 percent vaccination targets. According to the national plan to reopen the country, international students can start to return to Australia at 70 percent and then …