Impact of COVID-19 on Education in New Zealand
As the world is fighting strongly against COVID-19, we hope to see the end of this pandemic soon and recover even stronger. As the entire world unites and fights this battle against the virus, there are some countries which have managed to curb the spread with their constructive measures. New Zealand, a small country with about 4.8 million people has set a strong example across the world in its war against COVID-19 with constantly diminishing cases of infected people. The first case of the Coronavirus was reported on 28th Feb 2020, and with quick action and preventive measures, they were able to control the spread of virus. The country has reported less than 1500 cases out of which 1229 have already recovered and 226 are current cases as of now.
New Zealand is known for tourism and worthy of applause as a nation which took a bold decision of closing international borders on 19th March 2020 which worked in their favour, and we can see they have recently shown the progress of moving from stage 4 to stage 3 confirming that there is no community transmission existing at this stage. New Zealand has announced ease on restrictions which has resulted in about 4,00,000 employees resuming work, and after reviewing for another two weeks if the situation is stable, the entire country will be back to normalcy while still maintaining social distancing. The immigration will start reviewing pending visas after two weeks if they succeed in jumping back to normalcy.
Universities and institutes New Zealand have two major intakes – Feb and July and a minor intake in November. There are chances that the country will be back on track by mid-May, but if there is no official announcement about reopening borders, in that case, the upcoming July intake will be affected. However, the universities and institutes are accepting applications as of now for the July intake and also issuing the offers along with scholarships. We should expect more clarity from the New Zealand government soon and resuming the international borders by mid-May, but looking at the present situation in India as well as New Zealand there is a very strong possibility that the upcoming intake’s first semester may be delayed by a month or so or students may have to pursue the first semester online from their home country.
With one of the most efficient health care systems in the world, New Zealand has already set an example by an early recovery from the COVID-19 situation, which assures the quality of life in the country is superior and will be safe for international students. Students are therefore recommended to continue university as well as visa applications as of now. Currently, universities and institutes are issuing offer letters for July 2020, November 2020 and February 2021.
Vaidehi Purohit
Sr. Counselor & Trainer
