The University of Melbourne has sent a “please explain” to the federal government after the institution was handed a cap today on the number of new international enrolments it can accept for the next academic year.

But both the prestigious “sandstone university” and education minister Jason Clare have refused to publicly disclose how many overseas students Melbourne will be able to recruit next year.

Clare said today, while announcing the cap of about 270,000 new international students across the entire third level sector, that the new limits would keep numbers on par with pre-Covid levels.

But Melbourne University Vice Chancellor Duncan Maskell, who was informed of the details of the cap while Clare was fronting the media in Sydney on this morning, has issued a statement bitterly criticising the move.

“One of the first things we will have to do is seek clarity from the Government about the complex methodology that was used to inform their figures,” Maskell said.

“This methodology was never discussed with us and there has been no consultation process.”

The university said it remained strongly opposed to the cap on international student enrolments.

“It is staggering that we continue to have this debate while there is apparently no serious intent to address really major reform issues.”

Monash University, the other Victorian university expected to be hit hardest hit by the cap on international students, took a different approach to Clare’s announcement, refusing to say anything publicly.

“Monash will consider its response to the announcement over the coming days,” a statement from the university reads.