Moving to New Zealand as a Filipino K-12 Graduate: Opportunity or Scam?
Erwin Tulfo, a Filipino news personality known for his masculine flair, recently released a Facebook video encouraging the first batch of Filipino graduates of the recently established K-12 programme to continue their education in New Zealand. In this video, he as well as the individuals that he interviewed made several bold statements that, although true, desperately need further clarification to avoid misleading young Filipinos.
1. Ease of Integration
The video begins with an encouraging statement: Filipino graduates of the K-12 program will be able to integrate seamlessly into the British system of education, allowing them to pursue bachelor degrees in New Zealand. This opportunity is even made more appealing by websites which often promote New Zealand as the more affordable pathway towards the British system.
This ease of integration is a definite advantage that K-12 graduates have over previous graduates like myself. I, as well as my peers, had to repeat our college education in New Zealand just to be able to transition into the British system. However, the video then takes a questionable turn.
A representative of Cornell Institute of Business and Technology is then interviewed, who then explains the pathways that Filipino K-12 graduates can take. According to him, they can choose to either pursue a Level 5 course or a Level 7 course. I personally would not recommend going for a Level 5 course as these tend to cover topics that are meant to prepare you for further study rather than the workforce.
He also boasts of the high quality of education that these programmes will be able to provide as the British system is known for being the most accredited and recognised education system in the world. Although accreditation is often a credible sign of quality, this sadly is not the case for education in New Zealand.
2. Philippine Education VS New Zealand Education
Education in the Philippines and in New Zealand is executed very differently. From my experience, teaching styles in Philippine schools have far more emphasis towards helping students understand the reason behind particular concepts rather than the concepts themselves. On the other hand, New Zealand education has a tendency to evaluate students through their capacity to follow instructions and adhere to recommended structures for answering particular questions.
I also observed New Zealand education to be far more individualistic than what I’m used to. During major assignments, a session is spent to explain the parameters for the paper as well as the key concepts that must be explained to achieve a high mark. Students are then left to finish this assignment by themselves, forgoing any form of supplementary lectures. Instead, students are just asked to sit in class to work on their assignments until the submission date arrives. This is a complete departure from Philippine schools, where students often flock towards optional lectures to gain more insight on how to go about preparing for their major paper or test.
It also doesn’t hurt that these professors often give out bonus points to the attendees of these optional lectures.
The individualistic approach that New Zealand education has also brings with it a more relaxed learning environment. I personally find this to be counterproductive, as mediocre students with terrible work ethic (which tend to be the majority when it comes to polytechnic schools here) end up attending class just for the sake of attendance rather than to learn. A good number also tend to avoid going to class entirely, choosing to work extra part-time hours at the local dairy or fast food chain instead.
While I do appreciate the relaxed lifestyle that New Zealanders value and enjoy, I believe a more serious and focused approach should be observed in academic settings.
3. Dubious Education Providers
I also find the decision to feature Cornell instead of other education providers to be quite questionable. A few years ago, an investigative series by the New Zealand Herald highlighted what was dubbed the “student visa scandal”.
Here, it was discovered that a large number of student applications from particular countries used fake documents to get into New Zealand. Several education providers were also investigated, highlighting a major and disturbing shift towards pumping out student intake and revenue numbers rather than maintaining education standards. This significant drop in quality, both in the credentials of the student applicants as well as the education programmes of these providers, resulted in a surplus of unemployed, underqualified graduates fighting over minimum wage jobs.
In response, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority investigated these education providers one by one, forcing these institutions to either update their education programmes back up to standard or to close down entirely. And, among the providers that failed to adhere to these standards is the same one being featured in this video, Cornell Institute of Business and Technology.
It deregistered Linguis International, which had about 1000 students at its peak, for “systemic plagiarism” and placed statutory conditions on one of New Zealand’s biggest schools for international students, Cornell Institute of Business and Technology, saying there were doubts over whether many of its qualifications were genuine.
4. Three Years in New Zealand VS Four Years in the Philippines
The representative from Cornell also explained that a typical 4-year bachelors degree in the Philippines can be done in New Zealand for three years. Although a definite advantage in terms of time, considerations need to be made when it comes to the expenses involved.
Rent for a single bedroom apartment averages around 180–200 NZD per week in Auckland. This figure does not include typical expenses such as food, transportation, and leisure, which are steadily going up in price as well. Given this, the fact that the Pinoy Care Visa Centre representative featured in this video is encouraging family members of these fresh graduates to join them with the intention to migrate is very irresponsible advice. She also fails to mention that recent changes in visa requirements now require relatives of visa holders to justify their right to be in New Zealand through their own merit.
This means that relatives of the principal student visa holder must be able to support themselves financially from prior savings for the duration of their stay. These individuals must also have a justifiable reason to be in New Zealand, such as a genuine plan for touring the country or an intention to study in New Zealand as well. A lack of planning can likely lead to these individuals getting deported back to the Philippines or getting stuck in a “student visa / visitor visa” loop until their financial resources run dry.
5. Employment After Study
The video then features the “success story” of a Filipina who is now employed by the school that she used to study in. I’ve made friends with individuals that have a very similar story. Sadly, all of them share a similarly bleak outlook when it comes to working for these polytechnic schools. Examples that show how students are being treated like products off a factory line are fairly common. Additionally, the resources of these schools are often spent figuring out how to keep student intakes flowing without any regard for improving the quality of the education and supplementary services being provided.
She also mentions the availability of “career services” for students which, ideally, are supposed to provide opportunities for part or full-time employment. I personally found the career service in my school to be quite useless. Instead, I would recommend going to MeetUp events and networking with other professionals there.
6. Sacrifice and Hard Work is All You Need!
The video then finally ends with a montage of Filipinos who currently reside in New Zealand, collectively stating the oversimplistic belief that hard work and sacrifice is all you need to make it work in New Zealand. While definitely valuable, planning and having a clear understanding of what the immigration rules currently are will get you further.
Do you have a question about how it’s like studying, working, or living in New Zealand? Let me know by leaving a comment below!
