New Zealand’s education sector is continuing to enjoy strong growth, withnew figures showing 13% year-on-year growth in international student numbers in the first two semesters of 2015. Swelling postgraduate numbers at private and vocational providers have driven growth, pushing overall numbers to break the 100,000 mark for the first recorded time.
Priority market trends: 2-15 Jan-Aug student enrolments. Image: ENZ snapshot.There was also a record 13% bump in tuition fee revenue compared to the same period of 2014, up NZ$91.3m to $803.6m for the eight-month period.
“ENZ is building awareness of New Zealand education internationally, including telling a stronger story about what ITPs are”
Private Training Establishments were the largest contributor to tuition fee growth, up 20% or $38m, along with an 18% increase in student numbers.
“This is an encouraging sign that the [PTE] sector has recovered after the 2011-2013 declines in student numbers and value,” the report states.
Overall, China leads on numbers, but its 12% rise in enrolments year-on-year (up by 3,184) is outstripped by India, which saw 50% or 7,804 more students coming to New Zealand compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the biggest proportional growth has been in the Philippines, up 72% (1,093) and Columbia, up 62% (344).
China and India are particularly driving growth in postgraduate enrolments in several sectors, including a 60% swell in postgraduate PTE numbers, which is particularly positive given New Zealand’s strategic goal of upping international postgraduate student numbers.
In light of the goal to boost postgraduate enrolments, John Goulter, general manager stakeholders, communications & intelligence atEducation New Zealand, said a 12% bump in master’s-level enrolments at university is a “particular highlight” of the report.
Postgraduate study has counteracted stagnating growth in the university sector, which has slowed to just 1%, following 4% growth last year.
Institutes of Technology & Polytechnics also saw a a 60% increase in international students studying at the postgraduate level, driven by a growing cohort of students from China and India and contributing to a 17% increase in international student numbers across the ITP sector.
“ENZ is building awareness of New Zealand education internationally, including telling a stronger story about what institutes of technology and polytechnics are and what they offer,” Goulter sais.
New Zealand will continue to promote its ITP offering through an awareness campaign that has just launched, developed with ITPs and industry training organisations, to better explain the country’s professional and vocational education, he added.
[Source:- pie news]