Task force created to develop NMI as spot for educational tours By MARIAN A. MARAYA

Governor Pedro P. Tenorio has organized a task force that would integrate education and tourism by tapping Japanese high school students to visit the islands for educational tours.

Dubbed as the Student Exchange Support Program planning committee, the team has been tasked to develop a plan that would lure Japanese students into spending parts of their stay on the islands for educational and recreational purposes.

The committee has already met several times this month to explore its planning strategies, according to Northern Marianas College Development and Alumni Relations Director Tony Deleon Guerrero, an incoming committee member.

The planning group is composed of representatives from the Public School System, Marianas Visitors Authority, Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands, Governor’s office, Pacific Development Incorporated, and other private agencies.

As head of NMC’s marketing efforts, Mr. Guerrero is no stranger to the new committee’s initiative.

“This objective is also similar to the college’s efforts at hauling more international students to pursue their post-secondary education here,” said Mr. Guerrero.

Japanese senior high schools, according to Saipan-based travel and tour agents, are known to conduct exposure trips for its senior students in major destinations such as Australia, Hawaii, Canada, and the mainland.

“They say that Saipan really has a lot of potential because we are part of the US, plus we’re a tropical destination and we are only three hours away.

“This newly-organized committee is trying to work with airlines and travel agencies to offer Saipan as an educational tour option. And we can try to combine fun and education at the same time for these students,” said Mr. Guerrero.

Meanwhile, the college has also been consistent with its own efforts to widen its international student recruitment by communicating with various schools and different organizations in Japan.

“Mostly we are corresponding with the private sector, ranging from private schools to travel agencies, as well as newspaper companies. We are exploring ways to collaborate on how our two- year programs here can benefit Japanese students,” said the NMC director.

Early this year, the college sent Mr. Guerrero to Japan to entice college-bound Japanese students to consider pursuing their studies at NMC.

According to Mr. Guerrero, the largest number of students attending international universities and colleges are mostly Japanese.

The college has disclosed plans to tap not only the Japanese but the Korean market as well. But main factor keeping most foreign students such as the Japanese and Koreans from entering NMC, according to Mr. Guerrero, is their inability to speak English.

In this light, the college has devised of a way to address the issue through a program called Intensive English Language Learning, which is especially convenient for students from within the Asia Pacific Rim.

“We are distributing brochures on the English language so they can start with a short term intensive program and learn the language as it is the medium of instruction here,” said Mr. Guerrero.

The program provides a language-learning experience where English is the one language most people use to be understood.

The IELL is a program of NMC’s Language Department, which has been serving students from Micronesia and the Pacific Rim for over 15 years.

The program offers intensive courses for students who want to develop conversational English skills, as well as English reading and writing abilities.