Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull is hailing the signing of agreements between high schools in Shanghai and Dunedin as an important milestone in the development of links between the two cities.
The agreements involving five Dunedin high schools were signed in Shanghai yesterday and commit each of the schools to programmes of pupil and teacher exchanges, Mr Cull said. The agreements come as Mr Cull leads a 19-strong delegation in Shanghai aimed at boosting tourism and education links with the city.
The delegation, which includes representatives from the five high schools, is due to finish its visit to the city on Friday. Dunedin schools involved are Kaikorai Valley College, Kavanagh College, Otago Girls' High School, Logan Park High School and Otago Boys' High School.
Mr Cull said the agreements represented an important milestone in the development of links between the two cities.
''Education is an area where Dunedin excels and it is good to see our schools developing interactions with Shanghai counterparts in areas well beyond international student recruitment.
''These agreements break new ground and will see Dunedin and Shanghai schools co-operate in areas such as teacher and student exchange, long-term academic study opportunities, and language and literature development,'' he said.
They were not about recruiting international high school students to the city, or seeking immediate economic benefit and instead about ''enhancing the relationship'' between the education sectors of both cities.
The agreements were made after a meeting with the deputy-general of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Li Ruiyang and director of the Commission's International Co-operation and Exchanges Division, Yang Weiren.
''Today is about laying a foundation for the future of relations between our two cities,'' Mr Li said.
