The Education System Of New Zealand - A Holistic View

New Zealand (or Aotearoa, the Maori name foroperated by the Ministry of Education, provides a
New Zealand) situated south-east of Australia inframework for looking after international students.
the South Pacific Ocean, is famous mainly for twoIt covers pastoral care, accommodation and
reasons - amazing scenery and quality education.provision of information. All members of Education
It is a wonderful place for tourism, and also aTauranga are signatories to this code. Schooling is
superb destination for study. This feature iscompulsory in New Zealand for all children from
corroborated by thousands of internationaltheir sixth until sixteenth birthday. Schooling is free
students from various countries like South Eastat state (government funded) schools until the
Asia, the UK, North Asia, Japan, South America,age of 19. There are 10 levels of study in New
India and Australia, and many others.Travel toZealand schools and universities. The lowest level
New Zealand is easy, with many cities offeringis a Certificate and the highest is a Doctoral
direct flights. The two main international airportsdegree. Each level is more complex than the one
are in Auckland and Christchurch. Wellington, Newbelow it. These are the names of qualifications
Zealand's capital city is also connected toand their levels: . Levels 1 to 4 - Certificates .
Australia.New Zealand has an excellent reputationLevels 5 and 6 - Diplomas . Level 7 - Bachelors
as a place where education is synonymous withdegrees and Graduate Diplomas . Level 8 -
quality, offering a safe learning environment andPostgraduate Certificates and Diplomas, and
excellent study opportunities. Various types ofBachelors degrees with Honors . Level 9 - Masters
courses are available for academic, professionaldegrees, and . Level 10 - Doctoral degrees. There
and vocational studies at universities, polytechnics,are eight national universities offering degree
colleges of education, secondary schools andprograms at undergraduate and postgraduate
private training establishments. The educationlevels in academic and professional studies.All
system of New Zealand provides a progressiveuniversities offer a broad spectrum of subjects
education to students, thus helping them infor degrees in commerce, science and the arts.
achieving a leading position in the global scenario.Each university has also developed its own
Many New Zealanders are working internationallyspecialist subjects, such as technology,
and are involved in collaborative research withengineering, computer studies, medicine, agriculture
prestigious universities world wide. Students canand environmental studies. There are 20
enroll on short-term course such as EnglishPolytechnics and Institutes of Technology. These
language programs, secondary schools forprovide education and training at tertiary levels
ultimately enrolment into tertiary institutions. Theyranging from introductory studies through to full
can also enroll in vocational courses and degreedegree programs. Specialized training for teachers
programs.There are many reasons for choosingis available at Colleges of Education. Additional
New Zealand over others. High standards ofuniversity studies may be undertaken as part of
education, internationally recognized qualifications,the courses. All colleges offer advanced courses
excellent facilities and study support forfor trained teachers. There is a comprehensive
international students are to name a few.system of distance education, providing courses
Students have access to more advancedsimilar to those in conventional New Zealand
technology than they could wish for. New Zealandeducational institutions. There are also private (i.e.
produces top graduates who can take their placenot state-funded) tertiary institutes and training
with confidence in the international arena. Also,providers, including over 100 English language
English being the everyday language of Newschools.English language is one thing about which
Zealanders (English and Maori are the two officialinternational students have to take special care. It
languages), it proves to be a big help tois especially applicable for those who are not
international students, specially for those whowell-versed in English. The English language
don't have English as a native language in theirrequirements for international students are strict
home country. Since the education programs andin most tertiary institutions. IELTS (International
degrees are based on the British educationEnglish Language Testing System), is used at
system and are well recognized internationally, it ismost tertiary institutions in the United Kingdom,
possible to do an undergraduate degree in NewAustralia, New Zealand and Canada and
Zealand and a post-graduate degree in anotherincreasingly used in the United States too. It
English-speaking country. Foreign students areassesses the ability to read, write, speak and
accepted at all levels of learning and there is alisten in English. Care should be taken to find out
wide variety of subjects to choose from.Thewhat standard of English is exactly needed for
cities are quiet, clean and beautiful and are idealthe course chosen for study. But it's also true
for studying in. The cost of living and education isthat most of the universities offer English
not high when you compare it to other placeslanguage tuition for students who are already
with the same standard of education. It is notenrolled and also to those who want to study
difficult to obtain a visa and the country is stablethere.Even though ample choices are available in
and safe. The climate is relatively mild, wetrespect to institutes and courses, it is important
winters and warm, dry summers. The weatherto choose an institution according to the field of
can also change dramatically and very quickly, sospecialization and the institution's reputation in that
that people joke about experiencing "four seasonsfield.One point worth mentioning is the Quarantine
in one day". The weather varies a lot betweenregulations. The Ministry of Agriculture and
different geographical regions. Since NewForestry enforces very strict quarantine
Zealanders are well-traveled and have a greatrequirements in order to protect New Zealand's
interest in people from other cultures, internationalagricultural, horticultural and forestry industries.
students can acclimatize much sooner than theyLive animals or plants, or animal or plant products,
would in other countries. Students from all cornersincluding seeds, or perishable food, are not allowed
of the globe studying and socializing together alsointo the country. It's a good idea to follow these
help them in feeling at ease.A Code Of Practice,regulations to avoid unpleasant situations.