Focus on students, not dollars, sector told

Photo / APN

The $2.5 billion export education industry has been warned to focus on its students and not dollar signs to avoid finding itself with problems like Australia has experienced.

Bruce Baird, who headed a Federal Government review of the Australian Export Education Industry, addressed more than 400 members of New Zealand's international education industry, at its annual conference in Christchurch yesterday.

Mr Baird said in Australia, the numbers of international students rose rapidly in the space of a few years leading to a number of problems including a focus that was "all about the dollars".

"When your Government and the sector is only ... focused on money, without the key element of students, then you are going to create problems."

During his recent review - which has resulted in a number of recommendations designed to improve practices in the Australian industry - he discovered a number of examples where the student's needs were not being met or put first, especially in the vocational sector.

He cited finding examples of a course registered for 400 students having 1600, a cooking class that had 400 students but only one stove and of accommodation overcrowding such as the case of a four-bedroom home that was housing 43 students. There were cases, particularly in Melbourne and Brisbane, where students were working six days a week and only getting time to study on Saturdays. He said it was important the needs of students, including getting to experience the lifestyle of the country they came to visit, were not overlooked.

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce, who oversees responsibility for international students, said New Zealand was "keeping a close eye on what is happening in Australia".

However, he said he felt New Zealand had already "done a number of things" Australia was looking to implement as a result of Mr Baird's review. Mr Joyce said New Zealand's export education sector was "looking good and solid". He believed the sector had learnt many of its lessons when there were quality issues that caused problems in the Chinese market.

The number of students enrolling in English language schools rose by 13 per cent in the year to March, but fees collected by schools fell by $2.2 million to $140 million - possibly to students taking shorter courses because of the recession.

Education NZ chief executive Robert Stevens said New Zealand was in a different economic situation which meant it couldn't ignore the financial gain altogether.