There are calls for a national approach to training overseas students about water safety after a disproportionately high number of drownings in New South Wales this summer.

The Royal Life Saving Society estimates there were about 42 deaths along the state's beaches, pools, and waterways between December and February. Of the five overseas students who drowned, four were Nepalese.

Sydney based student Sanskriti K C, is still grieving the loss of her two Nepalese friends Shristi Bhandari, 23, and Sudeep Uprety, 26, who were swept off a rock platform at the northern end of Sydney's Maroubra beach in February.

"I still cannot believe [Shristi] is gone. I keep myself so busy because I cannot even stand one minute alone ... the memories start haunting me," she said.

"Shristi and me were best friends since Year 6 in Kathmandu.

"She had only been in Australia 13 days."

Karen Cochrane from the Council for International Students has criticised the approach to water safety education for overseas students and called for a national approach.

"A huge issue is the difference in safety activities between the large institutions such as Sydney University and the smaller universities and colleges," she said.

"I think it would be great for the Federal Government to step in to make sure there is a national plan to educate international students, rather than relying on a case-by-case basis."

Nepalese students over-represented in drownings

Professor Brander said efforts to halve the number of drownings by 2020 were failing. ( ABC News: Danuta Kozaki )

Keith Grima is a director at Sydney Surf Life Saving and a lifetime member of Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club, which patrols the beach where the two students drowned.

He and Local MP for Kinsgsford Smith Matt Thistlethwaite have teamed up to start water safety workshops at the club in a bid to tackle what Mr Grima said was an over-representation in the number of overseas student drownings.

"This is the first time I have heard these messages [about water safety] after being in Australia for a year," said Bevyn Khanal, one of the Nepalese students attending the workshops.

"Nepalese students are drowning because they do not know the skills and they do not know about the waves and everything and they do not know much about the Australian beaches."

Her views were echoed by Tonnou Ghothane from the Non-resident Nepalese Association in Australia, who said he was surprised to learn how few Nepalese students could swim.

"I asked [the students] and about 90 per cent of the group attending the Maroubra workshop could not swim," he said.

Bevyn Khanal (second from left) said she had never heard about water safety before attending the Maroubra workshop. ( ABC News: Danuta Kozaki )

Standards need to improve, academic says

Associate Professor Robert Brander, a beach safety expert at the University of NSW, said water safety for teaching practices, including those for overseas students, needed to be improved as a priority.

"There has been a goal from the Australian water safety council to reduce the number of drownings in Australia in general by 50 per cent by the year 2020," he said.

"So far, at least in terms of ocean drownings that is not happening."

Professor Brander said the university was already doing a lot in terms of getting international students water ready, and was even looking at making classes mandatory.

"We teach international students to swim in the pool, we give them free swimming lessons, we give them access to online videos about beach hazards such as rip currents," he said.

In his role as the local MP, Mr Thistlethwaite said he was in support of calls for the Federal Government to implement a national water safety plan.

"I have written to the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and asked him to support a parliamentary inquiry into this issue Australia wide," Mr Thistlethwaite said.

"[Then] we can get the necessary information and the Parliament can make the decision about the role that the Commonwealth can play in rolling out a national swimming and water safety framework for all in this country."