International education providers seek MIQ spaces to bring in more students as closed borders and the Government’s immigration reset makes studying in New Zealand a hard sell
About half a dozen peak bodies representing private and public international education providers are seeking MIQ allocation for students, as the industry struggles to keep offshore students interested in a future in New Zealand.
International education providers are sending through their submissions to the Government's “ready to go” plan of action for supporting the sector for when border restrictions ease.
Tommy Honey, executive director of industry body Quality Tertiary Institutions, said the submission included MIQ allocations for students as well as sorting groups of students by priority, based on when courses started, and a pathway into the country through online courses students could start in their home countries and finish in New Zealand.
Earlier this year the Government announced exceptions for 1000 bachelor and postgraduate students if they hold, or had held, a visa to study in New Zealand. This was in addition to an earlier exemption for 250 international PhD students.
At the time, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said the students' annual economic value was almost $50 million in wider economic contribution, including approximately $27m in tuition fees.
But Honey said it was time to have a plan in place for the next cohort of students so the industry could prepare.
He said the number of students to come here depended on how much MIQ space was available.
“It’s a chicken and egg situation. But we’re being realistic about how many students we can bring in. We need to rebuild confidence among students off shore that they can come to New Zealand,” Honey said.
Hipkins said "there is no way" to put a timeline on Covid, and borders would be closely managed for "quite a while".
“Officials are working with the sector on a 'ready to go' plan, which will ensure that all parties are ready to take advantage of opportunities for student entry as they arise.
“I, and international education agencies, interact regularly with provider peak bodies and private provider representatives. Discussions are wide-ranging and typically cover Covid-19 impacts and border updates."
“It’s like New Zealand closed the door but didn’t put up a sign saying ‘We'll be back in five minutes’." – Bridget Egan, Global Student
The minister met with peak bodies in May and July to inform the industry he was working on a plan to provide a "roadmap for transition", to attract "high-value" students.
After requests from the industry for clarification on its "high-value" strategy, the Ministry of Education released its draft policy statement defining what this might look like and was seeking submissions from the industry for this plan.
The draft statement defined “high-value” international education as providing excellent education and student experience, targeting students in “high-value markets” and delivering a range of “value benefits” to New Zealand with “minimal risks”.
Education provider Aspire2 International chief executive Clare Bradley said a key part of the discussion missing is what value New Zealand could deliver international students.
“What are we giving back to the people who invest their hard earned savings and travel thousands of kilometres and take a reasonably courageous step to come and study here?
“Because it's not cheap. It's a long way and it's not like we've got Ivy League universities. They come here for the New Zealand experience, which incorporates a whole lot of things, including their work rights.”
Bradley said students were choosing countries like Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia over New Zealand because they offered students more certainty about their future.
Closed borders hit Bradley’s organisation hard. Aspire2 International has had six restructures over the past year, cutting down its 320 staff before Covid, down to just 50.
“We’ve had to completely transform from an international business to a domestic one. Until our most recent restructure we all agreed to and were on 80 percent salary. It's been an appallingly hard process for us.”
The business has been supported by a small group of international students who started their two-year courses just before March last year. But those courses were nearing their end.
“It's a fraction of what it was. I think all businesses that were pure international businesses would have gone out of business now.”
She said third party agents, who brought in international students for providers, had been some of the hardest hit players in the industry.
“I feel for the agents. It's an incredibly difficult business environment, but like everybody else they'll have to diversify.”
Agent Bridget Egan, who is the managing director of Global Student, was asking for financial aid as a minimum, to help the industry, similar to the tourism sector's $200m assistance package this year.
“With the border firmly shut and no indication on when it will open, we're not able to tell people how long they should wait.
“It’s like New Zealand closed the door but didn’t put up a sign saying ‘We'll be back in five minutes’.”
“I'm happy to see the clamour for the government to make good on the promises made by previous administrations to migrants that there was a pathway to residency here." – Clare Bradley, Aspire2 International
Pre-Covid, private education agents brought in 80 percent of the international students studying at New Zealand high schools. Global Student also helped hundreds of international students apply to study at tertiary institutes.
“Across the sectors we were bringing in 500 students a year before Covid, and we now have 15 onshore. We only get paid when a student enrols in a course in the first year."
So in most cases if they study two or three years we don't get paid past the first year.”
Agents were selling their homes and dipping into retirement savings to stay afloat.
Egan said agents feel like they have been left out of the conversation with the Government.
“We feel like we’re in a situation of permanent lockdown, which has not been recognised or assisted.
“The Government keeps cutting our lunch by making immigration decisions which reduce the number of potential international students who are already in the country, including extending other visa types like tourist and working holidays and not opening up study for people on different visa types.”
Bradley said it was getting harder and harder for the industry to keep international students interested in New Zealand.
The Government’s immigration reset, and cancellation of onshore residency applications have also been “hugely damaging” to New Zealand's international education sector, she said.
“I'm happy to see the clamour for the Government to make good on the promises made by previous administrations to migrants that there was a pathway to residency here.
“The message issued by the government agencies in the past was to study, work, settle. A lot of people came here, relied on that, and yet their path to residency has been blocked or stalled. There are people here for 10 years on rolling visas because the requirements keep changing.”
