What is the need for this service? Over 12,000 students come every year from India to New Zealand for studying. Most of them are in the very young age group of 19-22 years; for most of them its may be the first travel even outside the city where they live-in in India. Therefore, after arrival in New Zealand they feel ‘lost and help-less’ for quite some time. Other Indian students, who themselves have had very little experience in New Zealand; become their ‘mentors’. As a result, in many cases wrong or incomplete advice is given and matters become complex. Many students also face language problems, even though they come to New Zealand after passing the required English exam.
As a result of the above situation, international students also remain gullible to exploitation by some unprincipled employers and landlords. For example, many students are given lower wages than what is prescribed by law, made to work longer hours without mandatory breaks and compensation, forced to accept unfair tenancy terms etc. Some students even find out after arrival in New Zealand that they were wrongly advised by the student agent back in India and facilities at their institute of study are not of decent standard. International students invariably don’t know that they have some rights too!
Given this backdrop, I feel that an advisory service for international students from India is needed to resolve some of their problems and for guiding them to adapt the ‘Kiwi way of life’.
Objectives of the advisory service:
To mentor international students from the India with respect to:
1. Issues regarding their complaints against agents who advised them in India.
2. Issues regarding quality of tutoring, facilities and care at the education provider in New Zealand where they have enrolled.
3. Issues regarding their employers, concerning wages, timings or suitable working conditions.
4. Issues regarding their tenancy agreement or quality of accommodation provided.
5. Any other personal issues they may want to discuss.
Cost of service: Free
Contact Person: Dr. Rakesh Shukla, Ph.D.
indiastudents.nz@gmail.com. Contact first by email giving phone number. If required, personal appointment will be fixed.
About Dr. Rakesh Shukla: Dr. Rakesh Shukla has high academic credentials from India and USA and working experience of over 30 years. He has been international student recruiter, advisor and tutor in New Zealand for over 5 years and has interacted firsthand with numerous international students. Besides English, he speaks fluent Hindi and Punjabi.