NZ forms education strategy for India

In a bid to strengthen its education links with India, the New Zealand government has decided to formulate an education strategy for India.

Towards this end, its has "� for the first time "� appointed a South Asia education counsellor, Perya Short, who will be based at the New Zealand High Commission office in New Delhi. Education matters, which earlier were part of the commission's Trade centre, will now be exclusively handled by Short.

Official figures from the education department of New Zealand reveal that in 2005, 2,114 Indian students studied in New Zealand "� six times more than in 2000 which raked in a total annual fee income of over $23 million.

In 2006, the number has risen to 3,000 and many more are expected to opt for an education in New Zealand in 2007, said a member of the New Zealand High Commission in India.

Tertiary Education Minister for New Zealand, Michael Cullen, while speaking on the new strategy for India, said, "Previous New Zealand ministerial missions to India highlighted interest on both sides in collaborative research, particularly in the science arena. Strengthening our ties with a growing and dynamic economy like India's will therefore assist improving the knowledge base of our education organisations and so help the transformation of the economy,."

The new strategy builds on existing activity, much of which is in the tertiary arena such as strengthening research, science and technology links and in developing links around vocational training.

Cullen added the New Zealand government agreed to formulate a special education strategy for India to build up better ties and to facilitate focus on education activities, which government agencies can undertake alone or in collaboration with the education sector, or education sector bodies.

While the New Zealand High Commission's Trade centre will be the marketing arm of the education activities conducted through the commission, with Short's appointment there would be renewed focus to interact with the top universities and institutes of India for collaborating activities, said an official from the New Zealand High Commission.

The official added that Short, who has held policy analyst and programme manager positions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and with the Ministry of Education's international division, would most likely relocate to New Delhi by April 2007.

Similar counsellors will soon be appointed to Beijing, Brussels, Washington, Kuala Lumpur, Santiago and Seoul, it is learnt.