INTERNATIONAL student enrolments have dropped again, with the federal government recording a 2.5 per cent fall on last February's results.

The figures, out this week, will do little to quell fears that the slump is set to continue into 2012.

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The fall is a sharp contrast to the average February growth rates for enrolments since 2002 of 10 per cent per year.

The biggest drop was in the vocational sector - which includes courses such as cooking and hairdressing - with a 21.5 per cent fall in enrolments.