In a first of its kind, the Telangana Jagruthi New Zealand (TJNZ) had taken leadership in bringing together different stakeholders in NZ and Indian government, along with other experts, to discuss some of the pressing issues facing international students.
The seminar held on Sunday, March 4, brought together local MPs from the government, Michael Wood and Priyanca Radhakrishnan, and Bhav Dhillon, Hon. Consul of India, from the High Commission of India, along with experts from New Zealand Qualification Authority (NZQA) to delve into the issues related to the international education sector.
TJNZ is the New Zealand chapter of Telangana Jagruthi – a massive social awakening movement back in the Indian state of Telangana, seeking to invoke and celebrate a common Telangana identity.
The TJNZ President Jyothi Mallikarjun Reddy told The Indian Weekender that their organisation is primarily focussed on raising issues of students and women, along with celebration the now resurgent festival of Bathukamma.
“We focus only on three key issues throughout the year, and student’s issues are one of them.
“The other two being the women issues and the floral festival of Bathukamma,” Ms Reddy said.
“Lately there has been a lot of noise around international students, for right and wrong reasons, especially those in our communities.
“We are trying to bring together key stakeholders in international education on a common platform and are hoping that students would get much-needed support,” Ms Reddy told The Indian Weekender.
The international education sector is important
During the seminar, the importance of international education sector for New Zealand was widely and profusely acknowledged, by both MPs in the government.
There was a consensus that the sector brings a lot of financial wealth and international guests to the countries who have potential to become NZ’s longstanding friends and supporters all around the world.
Mr Wood shared anecdotes of his political mentor, former MP of Mt Roskill and Foreign Minister of NZ and the current Mayor of Auckland, Phil Goff, about the importance of international education sector for the general goodwill of brand NZ all around the world.
Ms Radhakrishnan, an international student herself, reflected on how well NZ treats its international students.
All is not well in the international education sector
However, the broad consensus quickly moved purposefully towards the realisation that all was not well with the international education sector.
Mr Wood set the agenda by reflecting upon the current government’s views on the sector, which is that the sector, being too good and beneficial for NZ has grown too quickly, too fast and without proper oversight – a situation that they are determined to alter.
The government, especially the Immigration Minister Ian Lees-Galloway is listening to all stakeholders, including community representatives and experts before coming out with a policy that can address all supposedly major pitfalls in the sector.
Hon Consul of India, Bhav Dhillon, urged all stakeholders to work together and ensure the safety of international students
Mr Dhillon acknowledged the recent spurt in the sector resulting in the increase in the number of international students from India, and the importance that the Government of India puts on this fact as reflected in his appointment as the first-ever Hon. Consul of India in Auckland.
“The issues related to the overall welfare of international students are of high priority for the government of India.
“Lately the Consulate office has to deal with an unusually high number of drowning deaths of international students, which is both a source of misery and concern for us,” Mr Dhillon said, reflecting that Indian government’s concerns on Indian students go wider than commonly heard issues around their exploitation.
Gaps in the duty of care toward international students
The speakers also pointed towards the gaps in the duty of care towards the international students, especially among some rogue agents and education providers, who often work in collusion without compassion for student interests.
Apparently, it is these gaps in the duty of care towards international students that is the source of all issues within the sector and has to be addressed sooner than later. However, the challenge is to do this in a manner that does not jeopardise the overall setting of the international education sector.
Toward the end of the seminar, there was a question-answer session, where many international students raised questions and problems that they face on a day-to-day basis while pursuing an international education in the country.
Indeed, this was a great community-led initiative by Telangana Jagruthi NZ to move the public debate from problems around issues of international students to finding solutions to those problems.
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