Duncan Helen: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Duncan Helen: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:611;Page:8444] 
3.  
HELEN DUNCAN (NZ Labour) 
 to the  
Minister of Education 
: What steps is the Government taking to ensure the provision of accommodation for students affected by the recent difficulties at the Modern Age group of English language schools? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister of Education) 
: 
 I am aware that there are students at risk of losing their accommodation because accommodation payments have not been made to the people providing the accommodation. The Government has undertaken to meet the future accommodation costs for that group of students including the payments to home-stays for August should Modern Age not be in a position to meet those costs. The money will be recovered by way of an adjustment to the export education levy for that group of providers. 
Helen Duncan 
: Why has the Government taken these steps? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: The affected students had prepaid their accommodation costs and the Government wishes to ensure they do not lose the accommodation they are entitled to. We also want to ensure that this incident does not unnecessarily tarnish New Zealand’s reputation which by and large is one of being welcoming to international students. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: What does it say about the Minister’s haphazard management of overseas fee-paying students that firstly he has regularly been overseas particularly to Asia promoting that young children come to New Zealand to do their schooling and that he is now going to shut that down and secondly he put in place a New Zealand Qualifications Authority monitoring system of English language schools which in the case of the Modern Age language school has quite clearly failed? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I think there are three questions in there. On the first I have never promoted school-aged children coming to New Zealand because it is my view that that is a decision for individual parents and frankly it is something I am not comfortable with. That is why we have moved to a position whereby primary school - aged children will be required to have a guardian—[ 
Interruption 
] I make it absolutely clear to the member that in Korea and China I have promoted tertiary relationships but I have never promoted primary school - aged children coming to New Zealand because I think it is wrong. On the question of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority monitoring system the money was in the appropriate accounts in February but was not there when a check was made a month or two later. That is probably the result of a separate business failure of the proprietor which is something that is very hard for the New Zealand Qualifications Authority to take account of. 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: In order to clarify his answer to the principal question could the Minister tell the House whether he is saying that to cover the additional costs of about half a million dollars the export education levy is going to be increased on all providers? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: Yes and no. It will be increased but not on all providers. It will be increased on the particular subgroup of English language providers from which this group came—not across the board but for this private English language group from which this provider came.