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The decision

The Minister of Education has decided to keep the current policy settings for enrolling international fee-paying students under Year 9.

The Minister acknowledges the benefits that international education provides to international students, domestic students and the wider community.

We thank all those who took part in the consultation for their time and for sharing their insights.

Feedback highlights

We received 177 written submissions, many of which are schools who are currently or have previously enrolled international fee-paying students. We also organised four workshop sessions with the sector and one public session.

Overall, respondents didn’t support restricting enrolments for international fee-paying students under Year 9. They indicated that international education provides a range of benefits, including:

  • helping students develop their global citizenship skills, and
  • providing extra revenue which schools use to strengthen the education for all students.

They also indicated that if there are any risks, the value and benefits of international education outweigh these risks.

Summary of feedback

Background

Consultation on enrolling international fee-paying students under Year 9 took place from 29 November 2021 to 11 March 2022.

The Minister of Education commissioned Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | The Ministry of Education to review the policy settings for the enrolment of international fee-paying ākonga | students under Year 9 (primary and intermediate level).

This was signalled in the Minister’s speech at the international education forum in July 2021.

The discussion document for public consultation outlined the current situation, problem definition and proposals for change.

Discussion document