Students can have confidence in NZ Intl. Education

Education New Zealand Media Release

‘Students can have confidence in New Zealand International Education’

05/09/03: For immediate general release.

‘International Students can be confident that New Zealand continues to offer a robust high quality education system’ says Education New Zealand Chief Executive, Robert Stevens. ‘The situation relating to the Modern Age Institute of Learning is a real concern, but not symptomatic of systemic failure throughout the industry. The top priority is to ensure that students affected by the Modern Age situation are not adversely affected and that they are able to continue with their education and accommodation’.

‘The 2003 year is proving to be a challenging one for international education providers’ says Robert Stevens. ‘Increased international competition, SARS, increased institutional capacity and the strong Kiwi dollar are all having an impact on the market. In particular, numbers from students from China, which is New Zealand’s biggest market, are down for 2003. Most institutions have put in place robust and sensible measures to cater to the changing market, but inevitably some are exposed. The whole industry is working to ensure that any negative impacts on students are minimised.’

‘Education New Zealand has been working for some time with Government agencies to ensure that the industry and individual institutions adjust to the current challenges’ says Mr Stevens. ‘Education New Zealand is also representing the industry on a top level Government mission, led by the Minister of Education, that is going to China in the next fortnight to ensure that the Chinese Government is aware of the high standards that are now applied to the industry in New Zealand. New Zealand takes its international reputation in international education extremely seriously, and it is pleasing that the Government is backing the industry in this way’.

‘In addressing the immediate issue as to the future of Modern Age and its students, Education New Zealand will be doing everything possible to support industry in ensuring a satisfactory outcome, and will be examining the issues surrounding this case closely to ensure that the lessons learned can be applied to minimise the risk of any further institutional failures’ say Mr Stevens.

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