Export education is the smart, green and sustainable way to grow our economy.
Since being initiated in 1989 by the Labour Government, the export education sector has grown substantially to now be worth $2.3 billion P/A.
On the surface this sounds good but dig deeper and the statistics and media reports make for grim reading.
A small number of providers provide bad outcomes for students by abusing their naming rights, flouting the rules and damaging New Zealand’s overall export education reputation.
My Private Members Bill, the Education (Naming of Private Training Establishments) Amendment Bill will go to the root of the problem and ensure that all education providers are profiled in a way that accurately reflects the size and quality of their learning establishment.
This will serve to protect the majority of education providers and help make New Zealand a top quality export education destination which will compete effectively against the United Kingdom, Australia, United States and Canada.
Please find below a FAQ on my bill:
Education (Naming of Private Training Establishments) Amendment Bill Q & A
1. Q: What is the purpose of this Bill?
A: This Bill will stop misleading naming of PTEs and provide a boost to the image of the Export Education industry by ensuring that private training establishments (PTEs) are profiled correctly and accurately. The Bill will be one of the measures that are designed to promote NZ education providers collectively in the international market.
Currently there is minimal (and patched-up) regulation for the naming rights of PTEs which is causing great harm to our Export Education market in Asia and around the world. Many countries (particularly in Asia) have strict guidelines which reserve international, national or regional titles to reputable education providers whose names match their international, national or regional status. Therefore PTEs which boast regional or national titles in their names are attractive to Asian students and their families. However, a number of PTEs (although it is a relatively small number) in NZ have abused their naming rights and have created a credibility issue for the NZ Export Education system with the term ‘ghetto education’ being used in China and other countries to describe the state of the educational facilities in NZ, which is detrimental and unfair to the majority of the education providers in NZ.
This Bill will ensure that PTEs are profiled accurately and correctly and that New Zealand remains a top quality international education provider.
2. Q: Who is likely to benefit from this Bill?
A: The majority of New Zealand’s PTEs. This Bill is designed to protect them.
3. Q: Who is likely to be offended by this Bill?
A: A very small number of poor providers in the export education sector who are providing poor outcomes for students, flaunting the rules and damaging NZ’s overall reputation. The “ghetto education” – as so termed in overseas media – referred specifically to them.
4. Q: Will the Bill impose more regulation?
A: No. This Bill seeks to help manage performance rather than impose more regulation.
5. Q: Why this is a scaled-down version?
A: The original Bill was drafted over a year ago and we have since undertaken consultation with the export education sector. We listened to them and have taken their advice. Generally speaking, under the current economic environment, the New Zealand export education sector needs help to compete with the UK, US, Canada and Australia who are seen as top quality international education providers.
The Bill in the current form deals with only one issue, which is the naming rights of PTEs.
The accurate and correct profiling of PTE’s will help promote the image and profile of NZ export education as a whole.
6. Q: Why does the Bill not cover border control in respect of the exemption for offshore education advisers providing advice on student visas and permits?
A: Two reasons: the loophole can easily be closed by removing the exemption by an Order in Council – this is the Government’s call and we urge the Government to seriously consider this.
Secondly, evidence shows that these issues were caused by a small number of poor providers. One of the reasons why these poor providers existed in the first place is that under the current legal regime they were allowed to profile themselves in an inaccurate (or passing off) manner and attract more international students to them than other providers who pay more attention to quality and sustainability of their establishment. Many of these poor providers are also aided by a “larger than usual” amount of commission paid to agents.
7. Q: Will this Bill impose any fiscal burden to the government?
A: No. This Bill will not cost a lot, if at all, to implement. With reliably profiled PTEs, we will attract more top-quality students to study in New Zealand. The flow-on effect will be felt throughout the country. So this Bill is good for NZ’s economy.
8. Q: Will this bill help prevent New Zealand from attracting the ‘bad’ students who tend to fall into trouble in NZ?
A: Yes. This bill will improve the level of export education in New Zealand which will have an instant flow on effect and lift the quality of international students attracted to study in New Zealand.
9. Q: What motivates you to write this Bill?
A: As Labour’s spokesperson for Export Education, my dream is to see New Zealand become a world leader in top-quality export education. As many international students do stay and become our residents after graduation it also goes deeper than just export education.
Because some of these students are our future New Zealanders – we must get it right from scratch and attract the best quality students to New Zealand.
10. Q: Isn’t it the case that no matter how good the Bill is it may not be drawn from the ballot and even if it does, it will likely be voted down?
A: True, but the Government will be forced to address the issue with more urgency.
What does the bill do? Understand completely the why but would be interesting to know the how
Good bill, one worth the effort
A worthy task Raymond…. The last thing we need is further undermining of our reputation as a competent education provider….
@rob..stop asking silly questions… do what anyone who would be interested would do.. go and read it yourself…That is, if you really are interested in the issue….
My original phrasing was asking where to find the text of the bill, but was in a hurry on my lunch break and must have edited it wrong.
No need to be unpleasant about it, although I am starting to think you have an extremely high opinion of your own intelligence…
@rob leave the personal stuff for your lunchtime rah rah… If you can’t handle having the obvious pointed out to you, then i have to assume you have an even higher opinion of your own importance….
The issues that raymond point out aren’t rocket science… Demanding a detailed, personal explanation of the mechanics of how these objectives can be met displays a standard tory approach…(forcing a detailed explanation simply to pick out bits that can me misconstrued at leisure later)…I’m not surprised raymond ignored you…He can probably spot a shill faster than i can…
Btw,, weak attempt to get me justifying myself…. Those of us here who consider good governance to be the result of mature discussion, and research, tend to not waste time playing silly games with tories…. There’s no better way to ensure the debate gets childish, and loses the focus required….
I disagree with how obvious it is purely because I looked in what I thought were expected places (the parliamentary website, searched all the bills in the ballot, seemed the obvious one, I also tried Labour’s website) and at the time I looked, I couldn’t find it (there was a bill by Mr Huo about migrant levies, but not this one).
Believe what you like about me, I have no delusions of importance, I would have been quite chuffed with a response.
I am genuinely interested in reading his bill.
Export Education may be smart but it is hardly green. The carbon footprint to fly students to the bottom of the world for their education is huge and may not be sustainable as oil reserves are depleted in the 21st Century. Increasingly NZ PTEs are setting up shop in other countries bringing the mountain to Mohammed (so to speak). This takes advantage of foriegn tax concessions and foriegn govt incentives, but how much will benefit NZs ecconomy?
Raymond
How are you planning to address the major issue say here in HK that the first choice of the best students is USA and UK followed by Canada and Australia then NZ. That is the students NZ are taking are not the best and brightest, they seem to be ones who cannot get into at least 4 other countries to study？
“who cannot get into at least 4 other countries to study？”
You say it like there’s something wrong about being fourth on a list behind the Oxbridge and Ivy league institutions.
Chardonnay glass half empty or full?
Al1en, it’s a bit like JT being the 4th best candidate to join the Labour Party, why would they want him, when all the 1st best candidates are in the party like Raymond.
No, I don’t think it’s like that, Indiana.
It’s more there’s statistics and there are statistics.
I’d like to see how many students coming here do so with NZ as their first choice, before making rash assuptions. False logic I think the clever people call. New Zealand is the only country I’ve ever left home for. I’m guessing I’m not alone.
Like I said, can of ranfurly half full or half empty?