Regarding our scuttled Tirpitz (or was it the well-shelled Bismarck?) of last week, I am happy to report that you can find English UK's measured response to the Government's broadside right here. What follows is a rather selective look at their wimpy bleatings, accompanied by a few choice comments from Yours Truly, Sandy McManus.The UK is the global market leader in English language courses, which bring in around £1.5 billion in foreign earnings a year.
Yes, and the teachers get precious little of that pot, as you sit on their wages and refuse to let them organise.
The Government proposes to raise the minimum course level for such students to B2 on the European Framework, which corresponds to A level on the Government’s own Languages Ladder and ‘advanced’ on most other language competence scales. This is well above the ‘just below GCSE level’ which the Government was claiming earlier this week.
Oh dear, what a shame - the government has gone back on its word! How unjust it feels to get shafted by somebody who holds power over you!!
The Home Office and UK Border Agency have never published any evidence to show that significant numbers of such students work illegally, overstay their visas or are engaged in any other unlawful activity in the UK.
The Government proposes to raise the minimum course level for such students to B2 on the European Framework, which corresponds to A level on the Government’s own Languages Ladder and ‘advanced’ on most other language competence scales. This is well above the ‘just below GCSE level’ which the Government was claiming earlier this week.
Oh dear, what a shame - the government has gone back on its word! How unjust it feels to get shafted by somebody who holds power over you!!
The Home Office and UK Border Agency have never published any evidence to show that significant numbers of such students work illegally, overstay their visas or are engaged in any other unlawful activity in the UK.
'Significant numbers', no - that's true. But there are still a lot of accredited schools who allow many of their students to abscond and enter the grey and black economies, and English UK has never been keen to plug this hole, being much more concerned with raking in the dosh instead.
In short, if you and the schools you represent had been a lot more responsible regarding the legal and ethical duties towards the students you/they sponsor, keeping better track of them and such, none of this would have happened. But no, you saw this as 'doing the government's work', and relegated it to low priority. And that is not looking like a smart decision now, eh?!
English UK therefore urges the Home Office and UK Border Agency to: ...
... Let the schools go on making lots of money while ignoring their duties and responsibilites towards the students they serve and the teachers they employ. 'Cos that's about what it comes down to, innit?!
Anyway, if you want to get the most recent and steaming hot poop straight from the proverbial horse's mouth (or the dog's butt), you can contact the fat slob Tony Millns, Chief Executive of English UK, on 020 7608 7960, 07976 511439, or tony@englishuk.com .Meanwhile, have a look at this - English UK's rather lamentable Facebook campaign. It's not exactly rockin', but you might recognise one of the ... erm, contributors - it's that Howlin' Wolfman again!!
7 comments:
More info on the whole biz is here:
http://www.mikebakereducation.co.uk/?blog=view&id=190
Sandy, whan will you be starting your Facebook campaign to close down all dodgy EFL schools in the UK? We are waiting with baited breath (well, almost...).
I do have my Facebook page, dear Minister, but have no wish to overburden it further with an anti-UK Tefl section. Perish the thought!
Anyway, my presence on English UK's laughable 'Save Our Language School' Facebook page is enough. I think my opinions are quite clear there!
Oh dear - I now see that my carefully crafted contributions to their Facebook page have been deleted! I wonder why?! Shame on them!!
Any student on a working visa (from outside the eu) will only be able to work a maximum of ten hours a week under new proposals. Surely a more effective measure would have been to have had more checking on the people who were actually flouting the 20 hour rule in the first place. I mean it doesn't take an einstein to differentiate between the kind of student who's taking lessons seriously and one who's either caning it on drugs by night or working the majority of the week. But then again, it takes a teacher to do that and we all know how English UK regards them.
Or rather, it would mean having to listen to teachers and act accordingly.
Why doesn't EUK listen to teachers? Coz it's the teachers who are 'caning it on drugs by night', Andrew! And they don't make much sense in the morning either...
Jesus Spliffer,what school is that? most of the teachers i come across are nice middle class people whose conversations revolve around Facebook, mainstream events and celebrity gossip. And they preface each descriptive adjective by saying 'soooooo'. as in 'that offer at Waitrose is soooo cool'.
By your logic English UK must be full of ex acid /ecstacy casualties who've chosen to further their career prospects. maybe there's something in that, who knows.
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