The state’s educational institutions and organisations have weighed in on a federal parliamentary inquiry into the country’s declining participation in Asian studies.

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education held its second public hearing for the Building Asia Capability in Australia inquiry, which was commissioned by Education Minister Jason Clare.

Committee chair Tim Watts said Australia’s Asia capability had been going backwards in schools and universities for decades, with a 75 per cent decline in enrolments in South-East Asian languages between 2004 and 2022.

The committee sought submissions and recommendations on matters including teaching and learning Asian languages, cultural literacy, and regional engagement within and beyond the formal education system.

The University of Western Australia’s School of Asian Studies, through its discipline chair Laura Dales, said there had been a decline in Asian languages offerings and Asian Studies programs were being disassembled in universities.

Other issues included a shortage of qualified teachers in Asian languages, fluctuating priorities for year 10-12 language enrolments across metropolitan and regional schools, and a ban on immigrant children from studying their parents’ languages at WA high schools.

In her submission, Dr Dales proposed the creation of a nationally coordinated framework across all states and territories, and a new funding model for secondary schools to establish on-campus Asian languages or studies programs (possibly including five-year federal funding for teachers).

“One way to promote teacher supply would be through bonded scholarship program for the training of new teachers of Asian languages and Asian studies in Australian secondary schools,” she said.

“For example, hypothecated scholarships via the New Colombo Plan could be allocated to candidates willing to train and work as teachers of Asian languages and Asian studies in Australian schools.

“These early career teachers could be matched to schools receiving federal government funding.”

Curtin University ASEAN dean Thor Kerr recommended the implementation of a demand-driven carve-out in its Commonwealth Grant Scheme, which subsidises tuition costs for higher education students.

“Demand-driven funding for the teaching of Asian languages will ensure that an Australian university receives the full Commonwealth (CGS) funding contribution for every domestic student enrolled in an Asian language course at their institution, regardless of where that university stands in relation to its CGS funding cap,” Dr Kerr said in his submission.

“Demand-driven funding for domestic enrolments in Asian language courses could be given effect in similar fashion to existing demand-driven funding for First Nations students and students from low SES (socio-economic status) backgrounds.

“The additional cost to the Australian government has been estimated at approximately $43 million per annum.”

He said a substantial commitment of Commonwealth funding would be required to re-establish South-East Asian language studies at Curtin University, ideally offering Indonesian and Vietnamese.

“Unfortunately, within the difficult funding context of Australian universities, Curtin closed its Indonesian studies program a decade ago,” Dr Kerr said in his submission.

“Despite this tremendous loss, Curtin has been able to provide limited Indonesian studies opportunities to students through New Colombo Plan study tours and [Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies] semester abroad programs.”

Education industry group Languages Teachers Western Australia also covered the challenges faced by the sector, including declining participation in languages learning across WA schools, insufficient resources for quality programs, reduction in tertiary offerings, and fragmented policies across sectors.

“Indonesia is Australia’s closest geographic neighbour and one of our most important strategic partners,” LTWA said.

“Yet participation in Indonesian language study in WA has declined dramatically over the past two decades. Reversing this trend is vital for genuine bilateral engagement.”

Other recommendations included increased funding for teacher training and recruitment in all languages, particularly Indonesian, Chinese and Japanese.

LTWA also recommended digital and intercultural exchange partnerships between WA schools and Asian counterparts, an idea explored by Western Australian AI Hub in its submission to the inquiry.

Community-led initiative WA AI Hub recommended the use of AI-powered tutors and cross-cultural intelligent language learning systems to overcome the limitations of traditional classroom-based learning.

“These systems can simulate real-world scenarios, ranging from business negotiations in Jakarta to social interactions in Tokyo, enabling learners to develop practical skills in a safe and repeatable environment,” the hub said in its submission.