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A plan by South Korea's new Government to make English the medium of instruction in schools is a big worry to New Zealand educational institutions and international student agents.
Koreans have become the mainstay of the international student market in New Zealand since the number of Chinese coming
here dropped markedly.
But this looks likely to change following the Seoul Government's announcement.
It plans to provide 4 trillion won ($5.5 billion) to employ 23,000 English teachers, train new ones and increase resources to help Korean students learn the language, including building new libraries stocking English language books.
"It is going to hurt us," said Bruce Cunningham, principal of Belmont Primary School on the North Shore.
"For most schools on the North Shore, a large portion of our international students would be Koreans and we depend on them for our locally raised funds."
The number of fee-paying students at Belmont School has plunged from 29 in 2003 to just two this year - both Koreans.
"Our school's income from international students dropped from $114,000 in 2006 to $66,000 last year," Mr Cunningham said.
"Funding from the Government is not enough to keep us in the black, and whether we like it or not we are dependent on the money these foreign students bring in."
Takapuna Grammar has 130 international students, which is nearly 9 per cent of its roll. Rangitoto College has 187.
International student agent Do Hee Seoul said Korean student numbers looked set to decline further.
"Already the Kiwi dollar is very high, so Koreans are choosing preferred countries like America, Canada and Australia over New Zealand," she said.
"With the changes, more will likely choose to stay home. Already, they are making it harder for students wanting to leave Korea to study overseas by imposing tests and exit interviews."
The United States is the most popular study destination for Koreans; 62,400 were enrolled in colleges and universities there last year.
About 15,000 Korean fee-paying students are enrolled in NZ schools.
The announcement by the new Lee Myung Bak-led Government in Seoul, which assumes office on February 25, is aimed not just at reducing the numbers of Korean fee-paying students overseas, but also encouraging those already in NZ and elsewhere to return home. So far, it seems to be working.
Barely four months after 14-year-old Joanna Kim came to Auckland to learn English, she received a call from her mother asking her not to extend her visa when it expires in two months but wait for the Korean Government's final plans, to be announced in March.
"In Korean schools, sometimes the English teacher uses Korean to teach English, so we'll never learn - that is why our parents think it's best to send us overseas,"Joanna said.
"But my parents say the new Government will be changing that and employing more English teachers, so maybe it is a good idea to go home."
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Korean parents are prepared to invest heavily in English lessons for their children, believing it will give them an edge in gaining employment both in Korea and overseas.
According to the Samsung Economic Research, the English education market is worth close to $20 billion a year there, with each family spending an average of 700,000 won ($937) a month on their child.
International student numbers in New Zealand have declined from 126,919 in 2002 to 93,421 in 2006.
