On July 19th, 2021, at 6:10 AM, VOCM News published an article with comments by the province’s Minister of Education, Tom Osbourne, on international students retention and tuition. The article was then taken down.
A 404 not found page now appears instead of the article:
See the article published by VOCM below:
Province Has Issues Retaining International Students After Graduation Even with Low Tuition: Osborne
Jul 19, 2021 | 6:10 AM
The province’s education minister says despite relatively low tuition, Newfoundland and Labrador did not have a good track record in retaining international students after graduation.
Tom Osborne says statistics show that while MUN attracts a large number of international students, few stay in the province after they earn their degrees. That, he says, shows that low tuition rates are not leading to greater retention of immigrants to the province.
Osborne says government has been looking at other ways to retain students coming to Newfoundland and Labrador for their post-secondary education.
Image version of article:
Matt Barter is a third-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
Matt Barter 
Is the purpose of a MUN education to retain our graduates in the Province? If it is (implicitly) undesirable that foreign students leave after graduation, does the Minister also think there are issues with NL students who graduate and afterwards leave the province for better opportunities elsewhere?
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International students spend money on more than just tuition. They rent houses or apartments. They purchase groceries, school supplies, clothing, toiletries, attend the cinema and other entertainment, eat at restaurants, enjoy tourist attractions, pop into pharmacies & convience stores for snacks and essentials. Many ride the Metrobus, others buy cars and insurance and pay for maintenance on them. They contribute to our metro economy and the tax revenues. Many towns in N. America, Australia, New Zealand, Western & Eastern Europe realize the economic value and importance of having international students.
I suggest the same can be said of most universities and colleges who recruit and value having international students. Very few of the students stay in the university towns and cities after they finish their education. MUN & the Newfoundland government should realize it takes more than newly acquired education to keep student graduates in our province. It takes opportunity and positive business approaches. In the mean time, MUN and our provincial government should be careful to not cut the head from a holden goose!
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