Flawed National Party international student plan

new-zealand-labour-party

Wed Sep 23 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Flawed National Party international student plan

Wednesday, 23 September 2009, 1:36 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

Flawed National Party plan on international students bad for New Zealand and small children

New Zealand schools could find themselves baby sitting international students as young as five years old under a flawed and outdated National Party plan, Labour’s Education spokesperson Trevor Mallard says.

“Minister of Education Anne Tolley’s desire to have ‘greater flexibility’ about allowing students as young as five years old from foreign destinations attend New Zealand schools without having to live with a parent will lead to this country becoming a dumping ground for young children,” Trevor Mallard said.

“New Zealand changed rules around young international students after it was discovered young children with disabilities from foreign countries were being dumped in this country without any parental support.

“There has already been a significant amount of consultation on this issue, and it found there were serious concerns about allowing very young children to come to New Zealand and study without parental support.

“Rather than opening up a new round of consultation on this issue Anne Tolley should concentrate on the economically important tertiary education sector. Instead she is trying to find ways for small children to be sent thousands of kilometres from their homes to a new and completely alien culture where without any parental support they will struggle to cope,” Trevor Mallard said.

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from New Zealand Labour Party on InfoPages.