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High standards needed to win foreign students, says taskforce memberNews release from Australian Homestay Network Pty Ltd Attention: News, business, education editors 25/11/2011 taskforce 1 High standards needed Australia needs to lift its standards to compete internationally in the education industry, says a member of the new International Education and Research Taskforce (IER) of the NSW Government, Mr David Bycroft. Mr Bycroft, who is the executive chairman of the Australian Homestay Network Pty Ltd (AHN), says the state government should help to encourage and enforce higher standards. He says NSW will lead other states and territories of Australia in a reform of the international education industry. He will be calling for higher standards and their enforcement at the first meeting of the taskforce, which is to be held in Sydney on November 29, 2011. "This state and Australia as a whole needs to reform its education industry so that it caters better to visiting international students," he says. "In so doing it will facilitate the prosperity not only of that industry but also the prosperity of related industries including the accommodation, hospitality and tourism industries. "Australia needs to compete with countries like Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom which cater for international students in ways which improve the quality of their overall experience as welcome guests in these host countries," he says. "We need to not only provide world-class education for foreign students but also to offer them better quality accommodation and welfare as well as easier access to leisure, entertainment, catering, transport and tourism. "Mr Bycroft is calling for the accommodation industry in Australia to uniformly adopt eight standards set by the University of Sydney, Australian Catholic University, Access Macquarie at Macquarie University and some other educational institutions. "These standards are aimed at improving initial homestay welcoming accommodation for overseas students and helping them to better prepare for share and rental accommodation options." He says, "The NSW Government should legislate to help enforce these homestay standards. Unregulated homestay businesses have been allowed to operate despite widespread government and industry support calling for their regulation. "He is also calling for the NSW Government to legislate to set higher standards and help enforce minimum criteria for the training of staff of institutions who cater to overseas students. Education institutions should offer scholarships to staff undertaking the training courses, he says. Mr Bycroft says he supports a move to set higher industry standards uniformly throughout Australia for the welfare of foreign students. The taskforce will work with the NSW Government to develop industry goals and a 10-year plan for international education and research in the state. It has more than a dozen members and will be chaired by Mr Philip Clark, a member of the JP Morgan Advisory Council. The NSW Minister for Trade and Investment, Mr Andrew Stoner, says the new taskforce aims to develop the education industry by attracting overseas students and international partners who will invest and locate in education and research precincts in NSW. #end Media contacts: David Bycroft, phone 0402 925 632 or 0417 784 047 or email dbycroft@homestaynetwork.org ; Wal Baker, phone 61 2 9416 7111 or email wal@wb-pr.com . Photos to illustrate this story are online at www.wbpublicity.com.au/ahn/ahn.htm . Photo caption: David Bycroft, executive chairman, Australian Homestay Network, calls for legislation. More information is at www.homestaynetwork.org .
Australian Homestay Network Pty Ltd
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