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The exposure of the higher education sector’s reliance on Chinese students will push tertiary institutions to “diversify” and look to secure students from a range of international markets, according to Education Minister Dan Tehan.

“The more diversified your markets are the better you can secure your income and growth,” he told Sky News host Chris Kenny.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Australian universities have experienced a revenue hit as lockdown measures have meant a large number of international students, many of them Chinese, have not been allowed into the nation.

Just as the international community must put in place “global policies” to ensure a similar pandemic does not occur again, so too must Australian universities adopt different principles to avoid an over-dependence on Chinese students developing a second time, Mr Tehan said.

Mr Tehan said prior to the coronavirus, universities were “looking at India” as a potential market for international students.

He said the government would be “working with universities” to move into different markets and attract a broader range of students from overseas.