11 Responses to "Save UK ELT" Number 10 petition

1. Sevo Slade says:

   25/11/2009 at 07:20

   The “Best Educational System in the World”? I think not. Check out today’s Ofsted report that one third of UK schools are failing; or remarks by M&S chairman Stuart Rose that huge numbers of UK students are leaving school without masters of the basic “3 R” skills. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1230668/How-1-3-schools-fails-provide-adequate-teaching.html

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2. Andy Mallory says:

   25/11/2009 at 11:08

   I think they mean ELT and/or higher education. Not your basic high school.

   While it might be argued that ELT in the UK includes some of the best teaching/learning in the world – I don’t think anyone would say that about the British school system in general. In fairness it is not and never was about education – just about keeping kids off the streets and out from under their mother’s feet.

   So – what is the point/gist of this new law?? Anyone know?

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3. Sandy says:

   25/11/2009 at 18:30

   Hmm, I see that the petition has been submitted by Mr Shane Wilkinson, director of the notorious Bournemouth Business School International – who are well-known for the derisory salaries they offer new recruits!

   See my article on them here for an overview of the sort of school he runs:

   http://tefltradesman.blogspot.com/2008/11/bournemouth-bullsht-school.html

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4. Darren Elliott says:

   26/11/2009 at 23:53

   “In fairness it is not and never was about education – just about keeping kids off the streets and out from under their mother’s feet.”

   Isn’t that the point of education in general? ;-P

   Why does school suck? We teach it to suck.

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5. Alex Case says:

   27/11/2009 at 03:00

   Someone has kindly informed me that clicking on the Melanie Butler link takes you right back to this exact same post, but if you then scroll down the page you will be able to see my other gushing posts on this TEFL Hero

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6. Alex Case says:

   27/11/2009 at 05:59

   Hardly the best university system in the world either, especially if you are an international student and so basically there only to subsidize the British education system. The vast majority of foreign students who study in British universities leave with a less than positive impression, which therefore makes them worse than the much slagged off TEFL schools.

   I think it’s all about a visa mill crackdown that will also impact on some other schools. Haven’t heard anything that would make we want to sign it yet

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7. tony watt / @cuppa_coffee says:

   03/12/2009 at 20:01

   Alex,

   I am a bit saddened by the comments on this page. It seems people are more keen in picking holes in the UK education system or criticizing the person who started the petition.

   I’ll give you a brief run down of the actual issue that the petition addresses:

   * UK has decided to clamp down on bogus colleges
   * UK government has introduced Ozzie-style Points Based System (PBS) visa system which gives the power to school to decide who is a genuine student or not
   * So schools must be registered with UKBA to issue student visas.
   * Schools are required to do the UKBA’s work in collecting student data and reporting student attendance/non-arrival

   So far so good, sounds like a good idea. But…

   * Beginners are not allowed to come to UK for more than 6 months
   * UKBA have made a complex process even more complex (for students, agents and schools)
   * UKBA and UK Embassies abroad do not follow same rules
   * UKBA keep changing the rules
   * UKBA implemented the PBS visa system to suit Universities which makes many things difficult for EFL schools where students enrol all year round for a few weeks at a time

   And now the problem gets worse. The Prime Minister has decided to review the PBS and perhaps:

   * Raise minimum English level to CEF B1 (intermediate)
   * Require English tests before people apply for visa to study English
   * Ban students from working part-time
   * Ban work experience programmes
   * etc…

   So the consequences are:

   * Less students > less revenue for schools > less jobs for teachers

   PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION!!!

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8. Alex Case says:

   05/12/2009 at 13:47

   It’s like I said- just when you think private EFL education can’t get any worse, the public sector gets involved…

   https://tefltastic.wordpress.com/teaching/tefl/tefl-as-private-education/

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9. Andy Mallory says:

   06/12/2009 at 09:54

   Thanks to Tony Watt for the information. In our defence, we are mostly living and working abroad so have little or no knowledge of and far less stake in the UK EFL industry.

   As for slagging off the UK education industry – please feel free to counter by praising it to the skies if you like.

   IMO there is good and bad in it. Some really great schools and teachers, and some total rip off merchants. Hard to say who should be in charge of promoting the good and shutting down the bad. For a long time I thought that’s what the BC was for….how naive I was…

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10. Alex Case says:

    15/12/2009 at 21:33

    Sandy’s done this one for us:

    http://tefltradesman.blogspot.com/2009/12/petition.html

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11. tony watt says:

    17/12/2009 at 10:53

    Yeah, I see his take on it. He has a valid point “why help the employers if they are screwing you?”

    I understand but I am VERY sure the teachers’ pockets will be the first to feel any effects of loss of income, not the owners.

    Tony

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