China News Service, September 15th. According to the New Zealand Chinese Herald Network, citing RNZ reports, some private institutions of higher learning stated that international students studying online should still be eligible for a New Zealand work permit after graduation.
The Association of Quality Colleges and Universities stated that this initiative will encourage more students to enroll in New Zealand educational institutions while the border is still closed.
It made this call in a policy declaration, hoping that the political parties participating in next month's election will respond.
International students can obtain a three-year work visa if they have participated in a 60-week certificate or diploma study, or at least a 30-week degree or higher degree study, but they must study in New Zealand.
The association's executive manager Tommy Honey said that this is unfair to international students who have obtained half of their degrees but are stranded overseas for online study due to the epidemic.
He said they deserve the same work rights as students studying in New Zealand.
"Overseas online study should not affect their right to obtain a work visa after graduation." Tommy Honey said that freshmen who are now starting to study online overseas should also have the right to work.
Honey also said that the New Zealand Immigration Service should resume accepting visa applications from international students studying abroad because the current suspension of accepting applications has sent wrong information.
"It's like pinning a door closed sign to the door, instead of writing'come back in five minutes'. We must seriously think about the message we are sending."
Other private institutions also hope that the government will restart the application for student visas for overseas applicants and determine when foreign students can return.
Darren Conway, chairman of the English New Zealand Association of New Zealand, said that accepting visa applications can keep foreign students interested in New Zealand and help them avoid visa application bottlenecks when the border is reopened.
At the same time, he said that the members of the institution urgently need to get support from the government's $10 million fund for private higher education institutions. The number of foreign students in these private higher education institutions has lost at least half of the epidemic.
The application for the fund was closed on the 11th. Conway said that without the support of the fund, most language schools would not be able to survive next year.
Craig Musson, chairman of the New Zealand Independent Higher Education Association, said that some of the association’s 140 members also hope to receive support from the fund.
However, he said that they have no confidence in the application.
However, Musson said that some private colleges have performed well because their domestic enrollment numbers have increased. The increase in students includes those who left school early due to the suspension of their studies due to the new crown epidemic.