The Tertiary Education Union is urging the government to call a national meeting to coordinate how education providers respond to the Covid-19 virus.
Universities, polytechnics and schools could lose hundreds of millions of dollars if more than 11,000 Chinese students stuck in China are unable to travel here.
Yesterday, the University of Auckland announced a freeze on new appointments because of the likely financial impact.
Michael Gilchrist from the Tertiary Education told RNZ education correspondent, John Gerritsen, it's a little early for universities to freeze their spending.