9. International Education—Fraudulent AgentsTRACEY MARTIN (NZ First) to the Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and EmploymentInternational Education—Fraudulent Agents9. TRACEY MARTIN (NZ First) to the Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment: Does he stand by his statement yesterday that we just have the occasional agent and the occasional provider that doesn't do things properly"?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment): Yes; I stand by my full statement which went on to say: "and we have to sort that out." For the most part the international education sector provides an excellent education experience for the 125000 students—from around 176 countries—who come here while providing over $3 billion in export returns and jobs for over 30000 New Zealanders. However some agents particularly in the Indian market and some providers are not complying with expectations and the Government is robustly addressing the situation.Tracey Martin: Does he think it appropriate to be so flippant and say "We just have the occasional agent … that doesn't do things properly" when Immigration New Zealand uncovered at least 57 Indian education agents involved in fraudulent methods in the year ending March 2016?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Well I have been described as many things but "flippant" is generally not one of them. The reality is that the member is right. I am very aware of that number. It is out of a number of around about 1200 Indian agents that supply students to New Zealand so my point is that there are some who misbehave and actually New Zealand is taking a very robust approach.Tracey Martin: When did he become aware that these agents are saying that independent English-language assessments and interviews are not required for study in New Zealand; can he confirm that they are saying it falsely?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: That was last year and it is false. Commencing on 1 October 2015 New Zealand changed the rules to require International English Language Testing System 5 or 6—clearly for those people from India who want to apply for student visas to come to New Zealand.Tracey Martin: In light of his last answer what resourcing has he provided to the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) and his Cabinet provided to Immigration New Zealand to proactively monitor enforce and ensure that private training establishments (PTEs) and agents are meeting the new pastoral care obligations; or will they wait until thousands of students are illegally in New Zealand?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: NZQA has the resources to provide a robust response and my understanding is that Immigration New Zealand does as well. In fact they have just been effectively provided with more resources because of the new systems that they have which free up staff to deal with these matters. In relation to the member's question in actual fact their robust approach has led to a 22 percent decline in first-time student visas from India this year. I expect that to continue through the year because of the very robust approach that they are taking.Tracey Martin: Is it not a fact that his Government continues to allow dodgy PTEs and unscrupulous contractors to exploit these students treating them like cash cows as long as they—and I quote him—"generate income for us"?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I know who wrote that question. The reality is that we do not. The Indian market is a robust market and it can be challenging. In fact countries that receive students from India—including Canada the US the UK and Australia—sometimes have similar problems to what we have experienced. But by working together and working aggressively the immigration departments of those countries and others are able to get on top of some of the issues that we see in India."