BY JARROD MELMETH
The University of Newcastle is excited to bring back international students under a state government pilot plan.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet made the announcement on Thursday with the plans to bring in 250 students through Sydney each fortnight.
The students will spend their two weeks quarantine in purpose-built student accommodation before heading to universities around the state.
The University of Newcastle says it will only receive around 8 students in the first instance but this number will grow if the pilot is successful.
All up the university has over 6,000 international students.
Vice Chancellor Alex Zelinksy says the university has been working collaboratively with the NSW Government and other universities on this pilot initiative for more than 12 months.
"Our international students are a much-valued part of our community and we look forward to welcoming them back to our campuses in due course," Mr Zelinksy said.
The plans are set to be operational by mid-year should they be approved.
The NSW Treasurer says the plans wont come at the expense of returning Australians.
"We will continue to bring back 3,000 people per week, well more than any other state," Mr Perrottet said.
