THE PRESS MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 1977. Overseas student numbers

Press, 1 August 1977, Page 16

THE PRESS MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 1977. Overseas student numbers

Many of the students from other countries who have completed courses at universities and other educational institutions in New Zealand have now reached positions of influence in their own countries; some are able to steer their countries’ policies on trade or foreign affairs in favour of New Zealand. If any justification in economic terms were sought for the continued education of foreign students in this country, the argument might be couched in these terms. Most New Zealanders, however, will prefer to seek the justification in non-economic terms: as a comparatively affluent country, New Zealand has an obligation to provide education, and other forms of aid, to citizens of less fortunate countries; and a leavening of foreigners in the student body adds to the quality of student life in this country. One of the arguments against the continued admission of foreign students

—particularly in times of financial stringency in New Zealand—is that the acceptance of foreign students reduces the number of places available for New Zealand students. This argument has even less force this year, when enrolments of both New Zealand and overseas-bom students have declined. Overseas students still comprise only about 10 per cent of the student body. Nor is the aversion among some New Zealand taxpayers and students to the “wealthy foreigners seeking a cheap education in New Zealand” soundly based: many of the private students from abroad are from families which make considerable sacrifices to provide

their children with an education not available in their homeland. The limitation of the numbers of private students from Malaysia, which started three years ago, is in a special category. The limitation was imposed by the New Zealand authorities at the instigation of the Malaysian Government, which alleged that many of these students were seeking to evade the Malaysian requirement of proficiency in the Malay language before admission to a Malaysian university. This requirement is hard for some of Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese to meet, and hence has been described as discriminatory. By acceding to the Malaysian Government’s request, the New Zealand Government and universities have allegedly condoned the discrimination. The New Zealand universities, however—like those in most other parts of the English-speaking world —insist on proficiency in English as a requirement of admission. Malay is the official language of Malaysia as English is the official language of New Zealand. New Zealand universities are understandably reluctant to accept proficiency in Malay —as well as English—as a criterion for the admission of private students from Malaysia. The New Zealand Government should seek to persuade the Malaysian Government to ease this restriction on private students by pointing out that the Malaysian authorities still have the power to make proficiency in the official language one of the requirements for employment in Government agencies or for admission to certain professions in Malaysia.