China is essential as a student source market for New Zealand’s international education sector, which has seen its value rise in the last academic year to NZ$2.6 billion (US$2.1 billion), up by NZ$100 million (US$82 million).
New research released this week, The Economic Impact of International Education 2012/13, reveals that China contributed 25% of students and 32% of total onshore spending.
The second and third most significant student source markets were India and South Korea, which yielded 11.7% and 9.1% of overall income via tuition fee revenues across all education sectors.
However, the highest average spending was by Malaysian students, due to a relatively high proportion of them being university students – and universities charge the highest fees. Excluding tuition fees, students from Saudi Arabia were revealed to have the highest average spending.
By sector, the university sector was unsurprisingly the most significant in terms of the fees it earned, representing 34.7% of the financial “gross output”, followed by other private training establishments (PTEs).
There has been a change in the institutional composition of student numbers since 2007, with the number of students attending primary schools, universities and ELS declining, and these declines more than offset by the growth in the number of students attending secondary
schools, polytechnics (ITPs) and Other PTEs.
PTEs are the focus of a new engagement plan, as reported on The PIE, with vocational training in hospitality, IT and engineering examples of popular PTE provision. Private institutions, including private English language schools, are being encouraged to take advantage of “match-funding” via the IEGF for business-building activities and to better leverage a “Study New Zealand” brand.
The news about the financial contribution of international education is well timed, given that a recent TV report questioned the media campaign to promote study in New Zealand which did not seem translating into a rise in new enrolments yet.
Student enrolments declined by 3% from January to April this year, but the latest report indicates “student numbers have only just recovered from the global financial crisis”.
“This is a very pleasing result which shows the value of international education increased by around $100 million, or 3 per cent, compared to 2008,” said Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce.
“This is despite a fall in international student enrolments in New Zealand over that period”
“This is despite a fall in international student enrolments in New Zealand over that period due to the impacts from the Global Financial Crisis and the Christchurch Earthquakes.”
Joyce announced a NZ$40 million strategy earlier this year to grow the value of the sector to NZ$5 billion.
The total number of students reported was almost 91,732, representing a small increase (0.5%) on the 2007 figure of 91,321.
It was also revealed that the value of offshore education delivery/provision as part of that NZ$2.6 billion was NZ$104 million, and that international education was New Zealand’s fifth biggest export.
Complete infographic here.
