7 July 2016 at 9:00 am
Minister congratulates education community on 2015 results
Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce said that the 13 percent increase in the number of enrolments reflected, “the great work being done by the education community across New Zealand”.
Mr Joyce made the comments in his media release issued this week about the 2015 International Education Snapshot Report.
New Zealand’s international education industry grew to 125,011 international student enrolments in 2015.This is an overall increase of 14,748 enrolments and every region experienced growth.
“New Zealand is increasingly being recognised for the excellent education and study experiences it delivers to both local and international students,” Mr Joyce said.
“The benefits of international education extend well beyond the economic contribution to the economy. Young New Zealanders live and learn alongside people from other countries, increasing their understanding of other cultures and boosting our links with the world. These links are vital for us to prosper in an increasingly Asia-Pacific world,” says Mr Joyce.
Tuition fee income received from international education reached $1 billion for the first time in 2015. Fee income reached $1.029 billion, a 17 per cent increase ($146 million) on 2014. Statistics New Zealand recorded the value of education exports as $3.1 Billion for the year to March 2016.
The fastest growing markets for New Zealand education in 2015 were India with a 45 per cent increase in international student enrolments (9,013), China up 13 per cent (3,881), and the Philippines up 83 per cent (1,648).
“While most of this growth has been good for New Zealand, it is important to ensure that all student recruitment in fast-growing markets like India is done within the rules and regulations that New Zealand sets. The new Code of Practice for Pastoral Care of International Students that came into force last Friday makes it clear that all New Zealand tertiary providers are responsible for the activities of their agents,” says Mr Joyce
Auckland continues to be the largest region for international student enrolments with 63 per cent of enrolments, similar to 2014. Canterbury has 8.4 per cent of enrolments (an increase in enrolments of 13 per cent to 10,547), and Wellington has 5.9 per cent (an increase of 9 per cent to 7,456) of international student enrolments.
Education providers also welcomed more students in Nelson/Tasman (21 per cent growth), Bay of Plenty (22 per cent), Southland (18 per cent), Waikato (7 per cent), Northland (6 per cent) and Hawke’s Bay (4 per cent).
“It is important that regional New Zealand shares fully in the growth of our international education sector and it’s great to see strong growth in many regions. Education New Zealand will continue to develop their new Regional Partnership Programme to promote the benefits of studying in each regions,” says Mr Joyce.
The International Education Snapshot: 2015 full year report is available here.
The Student Visa Dashboard to May figures are available here.
