Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 October 2009
1131 Deputy Arthur Morgan asked the Minister for Education and Science the initiatives that are in place to support international students in higher education; the funding that is in place to support international students in higher education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33228/09]
View answerThe Government is committed to promoting Ireland as a centre for international education and a high quality educational experience for international students must be at the core of our offering. I recently announced my intention to establish a high level group on international education, which will initially focus on developing a national strategy for the promotion of international education. This body through collaboration with relevant stakeholders will aim to achieve economies and efficiencies of scale in the marketing and delivery of education and services to international students. The development of a statutory quality mark, to be awarded by the amalgamated qualifications body, will be a key plank of this strategy.
The quality mark regime will encompass wider dimensions of the individual's learning experience, including recruitment, orientation, accommodation, support services and fees issues. The development of this quality mark will build on the Irish Higher Education Quality Network's recently published code of practice and guidelines for provision of education to international students.
These guidelines outline agreed sector wide benchmarks in relation to recruitment, reception, education, pastoral care and welfare of international students and will provide institutions with a framework for setting their own education provision arrangements for international students.
