[lg policy] Australia: Language policy will cost nation 'billions'

[Harold Schiffman]

Language policy will cost nation 'billions'

Date
    October 29, 2012

    15 reading now

Benjamin Preiss


THE FEDERAL government's plan to allow all students to study an Asian
language would cost billions of dollars, an Asia policy expert says.
Professor Ken Chern praised the government's ''ambitious'' strategy to
strengthen ties with Asia but said it would require a major financial
commitment. ''The government will have to move powerfully to implement
what I think is a very important program,'' he said at Melbourne's
Swinburne University.

The Asian Century white paper outlines plans to improve Australians'
knowledge of Asian languages and culture. It aims for all students to
have access to study Mandarin, Hindi, Indonesian or Japanese.


Professor Chern said giving students the opportunity to learn an Asian
language would ''likely run into the billions''.

But he welcomed the white paper's proposal for Asian language studies
to be a core requirement of funding arrangements for schools to be
negotiated between the federal and state governments and
non-government education authorities.

The Asia Education Foundation's executive director, Kathe Kirby,
welcomed the education objectives listed in the white paper but said
they would require the support of state and territory governments.

The foundation believes it would cost about $1 billion to have 50 per
cent of young people in Australia learning an Asian language over the
next decade.

The federal government also aims to encourage more Australian
university students to study in Asian universities.

The Tertiary Education Minister, Chris Evans, said the government
would support universities in increasing the number of students taking
Asian studies as part of their education.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/language-policy-will-cost-nation-billions-20121029-28drs.html#ixzz2AhRmayKg


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