Education, Careers & Professional News
Education Sector At ‘Critical’ Crossroad
Educators are being urged to adapt courses as growing competition threatens New Zealand`s $2 billion international education industry.
At yesterday`s annual international education conference in Christchurch, Education New Zealand chief executive Robert Stevens said the industry was at a critical point.
Markets such as China, Malaysia and India – traditionally countries from which New Zealand draws a significant number of international students – were pushing hard to develop their own education industries.
Stevens said the potential was that students who in the past might have chosen to study in New Zealand would instead remain at home.
He said it was a worrying trend and had the potential to severely cut New Zealand`s market share unless education providers made their products unique.
“In a fiercely competitive environment, our market share is ultimately determined by capturing those areas that are more specialised and not easily imitated by cheaper competitors,” Stevens said.
He urged providers to take a long, hard look at the courses they offered and ensure their product was unique and of high quality.
English-language schools were of particular concern, with the growing likelihood that overseas students would stay at home to learn English – much like many New Zealanders who take after-hours language classes.
He said it was essential that providers considered offering more than just basic language courses, and he suggested tying in unique tourism experiences to attract students.
“There appears to be a strong, ongoing niche market for those who wish to go to places like Mount Maunganui during the European winter to have English lessons in the morning and a surfing lesson in the afternoon.
“Similarly, there is an equally strong niche wanting to go places like Queenstown to learn snowboarding combined with English,” Stevens said.
Other industry groups, such as the schooling system, were also at risk, and Stevens urged them to adapt their products and service levels.
“The worst-case scenario is that we would ignore the emergence of the new geographic competitors and blame falling market share on other factors.”
Education Minister Trevor Mallard told the conference it was important providers worked to drive up the overall quality of courses offered in this country.
He pointed to the increasing competition for students from more countries and said it was important for the Government and the industry to work together to increase diversity in the sector.
“We`ve had an industry that`s had two quite big bubbles. One burst and the other is what might be described at the moment as a slow leak,” he said. “Strong international competition and the development of local institutions in our main markets have increased the pressure for providers to stay on top of the game and deliver top quality.”