Historic agreement opens up study options for NZ and Korean students

<h4 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">An historic statement that has been signed by education officials from the Republic of Korea and New Zealand will pave the way for students to further their studies in either country&period;<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The signing of the statement means we can now undertake further bilateral work that has the potential to open up a world of study opportunities for young people here and in the Republic of Korea&comma;” says education secretary Iona Holsted&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The joint statement is a step towards our students being able to have previous qualifications more easily recognised abroad and will provide access to further study that has traditionally been difficult to access&period; While there is still more to do&comma; I’m looking forward to seeing the shared benefits for both countries&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">The joint recognition statement between the two countries&comma; signed in Wellington this week&comma; follows the completion of a joint research report&colon; Comparison of Senior Secondary School Qualifications&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">The research report&comma; prepared by researchers from the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation and subject matter experts and staff from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority &lpar;NZQA&rpar; and the Ministry of Education&comma; will support higher education institutions in both countries to make decisions about the comparability of Korean High School Certificate and the New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement &lpar;NCEA&rpar; level three&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">The report indicates that senior secondary school curricula in the two countries are broadly comparable&period; This conclusion was based on the number of common denominators for mathematics and science subjects using the concept of internationally recognised &OpenCurlyQuote;best-fit’&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">NZQA spokesman Dr Karen Poutasi said the Recognition Statement is the first of its kind signed by Korea and is a sign of confidence in the quality of education in both countries&period; Formal acknowledgement of cooperation arrangements and recognition statements is increasingly common practice in a globally connected world&period; NZQA aims to have qualification recognition arrangements with at least 50 countries by 2020&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;