The Department of Education is making great progress in international education, with new sister school partnerships recently established between two Northern Territory schools and schools in the Anhui Province in China.

Taminmin College and Nightcliff Primary School are the latest schools in the Territory to formalise agreements with schools in China, providing students and teachers with the opportunity to further engage with Asian counterparts.

Dr Kevin Gillan, Executive Director of Education Partnerships, Department of Education said “Sister school arrangements broaden the knowledge and understanding of students by enabling them to gain an understanding, appreciation and respect for other cultures.”

“Not only do we promote the prospects of studying in the Northern Territory to other countries, we develop opportunities for teachers to exchange course material, information and methods of practices and collaborate on educational matters in general,” Dr Gillan said.

“This is a fantastic initiative and I am proud to see Territory schools putting their hands up to be a part of the intercultural exchange with Asia.

“The arrangements encourage a two-way flow of students across regions, complementing the thousands of students coming to Australia to study each year.”

Establishing sister school partnerships is a key focus under the Northern Territory International Education and Training Strategy 2014-2024, strengthening the relationship between schools in the Northern Territory and overseas countries, particularly Asia.

Two new partnerships bring the Territory’s total to seven sister school arrangements that have been formed since the commencement of the strategy, including;

• Wagaman Primary School with Maubara E.B.F. 1, 2 School, Timor Leste
• Larrakeyah Primary School with Avondale Grammar School, Singapore
• NT Music School with Tongling No. 4 Middle School, China
• Palmerston Senior College with Hefei 168 High School, China
• Leanyer Primary School with Primary School (Fuxiao) attached to Anhui Normal University, China
• Taminmin College with Hefei No. 7 High School, China
• Nightcliff Primary School with primary school attached to Hefei Normal University, China.

The strategy aims to build an international education and training sector that provides international students with high quality education, a unique student experience and strong integration with their domestic peers.

The International Education and Training Strategy 2014-2024 Annual Report 2015 is now available and shows the Northern Territory has achieved growth in student enrolments and commencements, laying the foundations for future growth across the international education and training sectors.

As at October 2015, there were 2064 enrolments by full-fee paying international students in the Northern Territory on a student visa. This represents a 15.2 per cent increase since October 2014, and compares to the national growth of 9.7 per cent for the same period.

The Northern Territory has experienced staggering growth in international student numbers of 27.5 per cent in the two years from October 2013.

The Northern Territory has also achieved the highest growth in enrolments for higher education, increasing from 1052 to 1257 enrolments between October 2014 and October 2015.

The International Education and Training Strategy 2014-2024 targeted nine priority markets including China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Philippines, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. The highest market growth came from Nepalese students from 169 in October 2014 to 283 in October 2015, a notable increase of 67.5 per cent.

International education has increased from 11th to the 9th largest export industry in the Northern Territory, contributing $61 million to the Territory economy in 2013-14. A key target under the strategy is to grown the sector to be among the top five export earners for the Northern Territory by 2024.

“We are on our way to achieving our vision for international students to be the next generation of leaders, decision makers and entrepreneurs, forging important relationships and trade links between the Northern Territory and their home countries,” Dr Gillan said.

Media contact: Hayley Green – 0459 801 149