Mass NZQA investigations into international schools

Graduating students (iStock)
Graduating students (iStock)

A Newshub investigation has revealed 81 international schools have been under investigation by NZQA, and more than half have been found to have broken the law or other NZQA rules.

Worse, 45 of those private training schools have been found to have "serious issues" which breach the Education Act or other NZQA rules.

Things like students paying fees to get false attendance records, schools advertising courses they don't even provide, cheating on English language testing, and even giving qualifications to students who haven't completed the requirements.

And the list goes on. On top of that, many of the schools who were caught out simply shut their doors, leaving students in the lurch.

"This is an utter shambles. The system is in meltdown," says Labour's Associate Tertiary Education spokesperson David Cunliffe.

Here are a few examples:

"I think the industry has for a long time had a reputation as something to get into as a way to get rich quick," says immigration lawyer Alistair McClymont.

"Start a school, get NZQA approval, you make your money and get out before the compliance issues catch up with you."

Documents show more than a dozen providers just sold up or cancelled their registration when NZQA started investigating.

One industry representative says some owners of schools never have any intention of providing quality education - it's all about cashing in.

"The owners and directors - they've set up the business to basically gouge it," says Auckland International Education Group's Paul Chambers.

In the case of IANZ - an Auckland provider - the directors sold their business after getting busted for alleged fraudulent activity. They're now trying to leave the country.

"The Government is wilfully blind, incompetent or lacking in systems," says Mr Cunliffe.

However, the Government disagrees.

"We actually have a far more robust system under this Government," says Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce. "We've tightened up requirements on both private and public providers."

But Mr Chalmers says audits have only tightened up after Newshub's investigation.

"I think the role of the media in this has been crucial. We have a free media that's been able to go after these people and put pressure on Government agencies," he says.

The 45 schools with serious issues are around 10 percent of all training providers in the country.

To make matters worse - some of those providers even got taxpayer funding from the Tertiary Education Commission.

"The system is broken - I think it's time for a full independent inquiry," Mr Cunliffe says.

But the Government says that's not necessary - and insists it is taking action against the problematic providers.

"Most Tertiary Education Organisations (TEOs), both publicly and privately-owned, are high performing and have robust internal systems in place to ensure they are continually improving," says NZQA's deputy chief executive of quality assurance, Dr Grant Klinkum.

"A very small number of TEOs are not meeting NZQA's high expectations. Poor performance by providers damages student learning and the reputation of New Zealand's education system and will not be tolerated by NZQA. NZQA proactively reviews the quality of providers and also investigates complaints about providers."

Please contact Michael Morrah at michaelmorrah@mediaworks.co.nz

Newshub.