Homestay mum angry at silence

By ELIZABETH BINNING AND REBECCA WALSH

A homestay mother is refusing to abandon her Japanese student after the collapse of the Modern Age Institute of Learning - even though it could land her in financial difficulty.

But she is angry at the lack of information from the institute - and says that her student had no idea his school had folded until she told him.

Staff at the institute - one of the biggest English language schools in the country - have been told the school will go into liquidation today after months of financial crisis.

In closing its doors, the institute left staff wages unpaid and homestay parents without payments for student board. But school management had failed to respond to numerous messages.

The Herald understood a group of Auckland businessmen was making a last-ditch attempt to keep the organisation afloat. But that came as little comfort to families relying on board of up to $200 a week.

The woman, who did not want to be named, rang the school last Wednesday asking why her fortnightly payment of $400 had not been deposited into her account.

She was told that everything was fine and that all the homestay families would be "back-paid" on Thursday.

But the money, which she needed to avert having her phone cut off, never appeared. On Friday, after several unsuccessful attempts to get more information, she was told the school was shut.

The next day she was given $80 but the partial payment did not cover her outstanding bills.

Like many homestay parents, the woman said she was not in a position to cover the student's living expenses on her own. If the situation did not improve by the end of this week she would be owed $720.

"Their answer was to find another homestay for him and I said 'no you won't'.

"This boy's been here for nearly a year, he's really happy here, he's going to high school soon and he's part of the family. I just can't believe this."

The woman said she was annoyed by the lack of information she received from the institute during the financial collapse, which was first reported in the Herald last month when families were asked to house students for free to avert a financial crisis.

"We weren't told a lot," said the woman. "You couldn't speak with the directors at all. Only the staff would talk to you but they didn't really know".

At its height the institute enrolled about 1500 students at its five campuses - two in Auckland, and one each in Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch - but the roll was reported to be down to 500 in recent weeks.

It appears many of those students were also in the dark about what was happening last week. The woman said her 15-year-old student had no idea the school had closed and was shocked when she told him he would not be attending classes today.

Staff at the institute, which had been the subject of two Qualifications Authority audits this year, were also angry with the school management's handling of the situation.

A teacher at one of the Auckland campuses said many of the staff were owed three weeks' pay along with holiday pay. They had been told they would be paid "out of the assets" but had not been told when.

"The staff are very upset, angry and annoyed," said the teacher, who did not want to be named.

"We feel we have been deceived."

It is understood the institute had "overstretched itself" a couple of years ago after trying to buy another failing language school in Auckland.

"They tried to save the reputation of New Zealand schools by buying this failing school ... something went wrong with that buy out."

Education Minister Trevor Mallard said the Qualifications Authority had been monitoring Modern Age closely and that private providers had undertaken to ensure the educational needs of the students were met.

Students were expected to learn tomorrow which institutes would take them on so they could continue their studies.

Mr Mallard said it appeared that some students had had problems with their home arrangements.

"Because of that about six students were helped out on Friday and an assessment will be done as to how many others may need help."

The homestay mother hoped the Government will also step in and help with the payments owed to the homestay families.

School's out

Language schools nationwide are battling to stay afloat amid a huge dropoff in students from China.

The Modern Age institute can take about 1500 students at its five campuses, but is down to about 500.

Export education earns New Zealand about $1.7 billion per year.