Team aims to lure students from China

A delegation of representatives from local schools and tertiary educators heading to China had their final meeting at Priority One offices yesterday. Photo / John Borren

A delegation of representatives from 12 local educational institutions are heading to China next week aiming to attract more students and their families to come to Tauranga to study.

Education Tauranga set itself a target to achieve a 15 per cent growth in the economic value of international education for the region by 2017 - but achieved this target last year, increasing the value from $24.7 million to $28.8 million.

On the back of that record growth, the organisation has now set its sights on China to help it achieve its new goal of growing this value to $31.72 million by 2017 - an increase of 35 per cent.

Education Tauranga regional manager Anne Young said a significant part of achieving this strategy was focusing more on China. "China is New Zealand's largest source of international students and is on a rise, up 13 per cent in 2014, but 72 per cent of students study in Auckland. Tauranga does not have a big share of the Chinese market, but the potential for growth in our student numbers particularly in the primary school sector is huge," she said.

Next week, Ms Young is leading the delegation of representatives from local schools and tertiary institutions to China on a 10-day recruitment roadshow. Five days will be spent in and around Shanghai participating in fairs and educational agent seminars, meeting students and parents interested in New Zealand as a study destination.

The delegation will also spend five days in Guangzhou in southern China - the area most students in New Zealand come from. Mrs Young said this was the first such delegation by members of Education Tauranga, which was being supported by Education New Zealand agents in China.

The lure of Auckland was still strong but Tauranga being a mere two-and-a-half hours' drive away was attractive, she said. "This puts the Tauranga region in an excellent selling position. The quality of our institutions, our ability to deliver education across all sectors from primary to tertiary, and our great lifestyle, all work in our favour ..."

Mrs Young said at the start of 2014 there were 858 international students in the region and, by the end of the year, just over 1100, with significant growth in the Korean market, predominantly in the primary school sector. Fifty-five per cent of Education Tauranga members reported their biggest market for international students was South Korea, followed by 16 per cent coming from Germany, with no primary schools having any Chinese international students.

Tauranga Primary School international director May Tran said being part of an educational delegation had huge benefits. Education Tauranga is collaborating with Education Southland on some activities which had led to significant interest from an education bureau in Suzhou, Mrs Young said.

The current economic value of international education to this country is $2.8 billion, and government has set a goal of growing that to $5 billion by 2025.

By the numbers
•At start of 2014: 858 international students in the region
•By the end of 2014: More than 1100 international students
•High performing markets driving growth: Korea and India
•South Korea is the biggest market for 55 per cent of Education Tauranga members
•Economic value of international education to Tauranga region stands at $28.8 million
- Education Tauranga

Local institutions participating in a China delegation
•Tauranga Primary
•GreenPark School
•Tauranga Intermediate
•Otumoetai Intermediate
•Tauranga Girls' College
•Tauranga Boys' College
•Bethlehem College
•Aquinas College
•Te Puke High School
•Katikati College
•Bay of Plenty Polytechnic
•Bay of Plenty English Language School