Bay of Plenty principals are relieved there will be no restrictions placed on the enrolment of primary-aged international students. Photo / Getty Images
Bay of Plenty principals are relieved there will be no restrictions placed on the enrolment of primary-aged international students. Photo / Getty Images
Bay of Plenty school leaders are delighted plans to ban enrolment of fee-paying international students under Year 9 will not go ahead.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins made the announcement at an international education conference in Auckland on Thursday, saying consultation with the sector showed "significant benefits" of having overseasstudents in primary schools.
Oropi School principal Andrew King said it was a "massive relief" primary-aged international students would be able to continue to enrol at New Zealand schools.
He was thrilled to be able to bring the school's intercultural curriculum back to life with face-to-face interaction between domestic and international students.
"They will actually get to meet some of these kids face to face. The focus is on interaction with other cultures."
Korean Times director Hyun Taek Yang described the Government's decision as "commonsense" and said he was looking forward to carrying on business as usual.
Seventy per cent of Korean international students in Tauranga were aged between 5 and 12, he said.
"I am talking with 30 to 40 prospective Korean families who wish to come to Tauranga schools."
He expected students would start to arrive in Tauranga from September once their visas were approved.
Tauranga Intermediate principal Cameron Mitchell said the Government made the right decision and it was now time to be proactive and reestablish a "very important part of the school's culture".
Oropi School principal Andrew King. Photo / George Novak
He said a "huge amount of work" was put into submissions against the proposal.
Its international programme had been running for the past 20 years and the school had sister schools in Thailand, Taiwan, Japan and China.
"It's great that commonsense has prevailed. I'm looking forward to rebuilding and continuing the excellent relationships we have with our sister schools."
And the move would help provide domestic and international students with opportunities they had missed out on during the pandemic.
"We are wanting to teach global citizenship to our students and build a school that has a distinct international culture where we celebrate diversity."
Waihi-based organisation Schools International Education Business Association supports and advocates for schools across the country that host international students.
Tauranga Intermediate principal Cameron Mitchell. Photo / George Novak
Executive director John van der Zwan said it was likely primary-aged international students could start arriving in the country from the middle of Term 3.
"Now the borders are open the flow of students can begin again. The pent-up demand will begin to be filled," he said.
Van der Zwan said the "main challenge" for schools now would be to ensure the infrastructure was in place to provide high-quality education and pastoral care.
He feared some overseas families would choose to seek education opportunities in Canada and Australia which opened up "well before" New Zealand.
"We have lost quite a bit of ground internationally with our main competitors. The risk is that students who could consider New Zealand may well go there instead," he said.
"When students do come back it's important we provide exceptional quality care so we can start to re-establish ourselves as an option."
Schools International Education Business Association executive director John van der Zwan. Photo / Supplied
Thursday's announcement sent a strong message that international education was valued and provided certainty for its recovery, he said.
Education Tauranga regional relationship manager Melissa Gillingham said the room erupted in "cheers and clapping" on Thursday when Hipkins announced the decision.
"I am absolutely elated and hugely relieved. It was very well received by the crowd.
She felt as though the organisation presented a "very convincing argument" against the proposed changes during consultation.
"All of the hard work and effort that went into preparing a regional submission was well worth it."
Twenty-three of the organisation's 38 members were primary and intermediate schools.
She said schools had already been receiving inquiries from prospective families along with expressions of interest about short-term study tours. But up until now they had not been able to give clear answers.
"Being able to provide confirmation we are open for business, instead of a question mark around it is really key for our visibility."
A key focus now was to ensure schools had the staffing infrastructure to provide "exceptional" education and pastoral care for foreign students and their families.
