Deregulation and control in international education: What happens in private training establishments in NZ?

Abstract

The need for educational integrity intensified particularly after the effects of the public sector reform wave of the 1980s began to be felt by both education providers as well as governments. The prescribed toning down of government support, relaxation of regulatory 'impediments', centralisation of market competition and concomitant proliferation of private as well as public providers resulted in the need for a cost-profit focus in providers and a quality-integrity focus in policy frameworks. In the nonuniversity tertiary sector, numerous concerns and complaints continue to arise regarding 'profiteering' and sub-quality performance in the provision of education. By way of response, both providers as well as public policymakers have been involved in designing innovative frameworks aimed at ensuring integrity and quality in the provision of education in what is essentially a highly lucrative and competitive international market. This paper critically analyses organisational responses to institutional requirements and expectations in the case of a Private Training Establishment (PTE) in New Zealand. Data for this research comes from a number of secondary sources, ongoing interviews with academics/administrators involved with organisations in the sector, and the notinconsiderable personal experiences of the two researchers. It concludes that deregulation, re-regulation and a reliance on the market as well as internal organisational controls, opens up the industry to serious compromises in terms of integrity of education. The findings should be of interest to stakeholders involved in the tertiary education sector.