Government acts to protect foreign children

By REBECCA WALSH

The Government has moved to stem the flow of foreign primary school pupils coming alone to study here.

Children under 10 in future will have to live with a parent or guardian to study here. And children aged 11 to 13 will have to get approval to live with someone other than their parent or guardian.

The changes follow concerns about the safety and welfare of the increasing number of very young international students, mostly from Korea, enrolled at New Zealand schools. In two years the number of foreign students aged under 13 has doubled to more than 4300. Around 40 per cent are unaccompanied and most study at Auckland schools.

Education Minister Trevor Mallard said yesterday that the changes were primarily in the interests of the children but they would also protect the country's education industry.

The new rules might require schools or private institutions to demonstrate students had access to native-speaking support people and that regular visits were made to homestay accommodation.

A new guardian visa would also be introduced to allow the guardians of young international students to live with and care for their children while they studied in New Zealand.

Students already enrolled could remain enrolled until the end of next year under their existing accommodation arrangements.



Mr Mallard said a survey of seven schools last year found students were frequently relocated, often too many students lived at one address, and there was inadequate supervision.

"There has been concern expressed to me around the quality of some of those [living] arrangements and especially around the general principle of kids who are as young as 7 or 8 being so far from their parents.

"Intuition tells us that's not a good thing and working with experts in the area has confirmed that."

Rosebank School principal Ron Neighbour said the school enrolled four Korean students aged 8 to 10 last year but stopped after concerns about their living arrangements.

The children were housed with "a lot of intermediate and older children". Some of the older children had behavioural or learning difficulties.

"We had concerns about whether it was the best place for them. At times they looked as if they needed to be taken home and given a good cuddle."

- additional reporting: Helen Tunnah

School rules

International students aged 10 or under will have to live with a parent or legal guardian.

Schools or private institutions enrolling students aged 11 to 13 who do not live with a parent or guardian will need approval from the Ministry of Education.