Just over half of the 12700 Chinese students which were due to study at one of its eight members had been unable to come to New Zealand due to the travel ban. Potential lost fees would be enough to almost wipe out the combined surplus of the entire sector.
Institutions could face the loss of $170 million in expected revenue, while the students would be expected to spend an additional $340m while living here.
The $170m in fees was similar to the $175m in combined surpluses across the eight universities in 2019.