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The head of the country's biggest school has dubbed the Government's levy for international students a "rort", as the Auckland Secondary Principals Association calls for the fee to be canned.
The association wants the fee - which at $900 a year for each student can cost large schools hundreds of thousands of dollars - replaced by a fairer system.
If the change goes through, it could mean more in the bank for schools feeling the financial pinch.
Education Minister Chris Carter says he is reviewing the levy and expects advice from his ministry within a month.
Industry body Education New Zealand also called this month for the fee to be eliminated - claiming the cost treated schools "inequitably" compared with other education exporters, was forcing schools with smaller numbers of international students out of the industry, and added to the financial entry threshold.
David Hodge, head of Rangitoto College in Mairangi Bay, said the country's biggest school paid the Government about $160,000 a year to cover about 180 international students but did not get equivalent value back in services.
He said the fee was designed to go towards property - such as using and maintaining buildings - developing policy, monitoring conditions for international students and marketing overseas.
But Mr Hodge said it didn't add up and he gave the example of the school having built and paid for classrooms that "more than catered for" the number of international students enrolled.
"Not only do we have the capital costs of that, we don't get any money for the maintenance or upkeep or insurance of those classroom blocks."
Mr Hodge said international student fees were the biggest source of locally raised funds for Rangitoto College, generating about $1 million to be put back in to education.
Mr Carter said he just received a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers that analysed the levy.
"It does say that there is a cost but whether $900 is the appropriate cost, it raises some questions about that," he said. "I understand tertiary institutions pay $450 - I have raised the question [with the ministry] that if they pay that much, why wouldn't schools?"
