[EDLING:1560] EducationGuardian.co.uk: Government speaks language of control

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Francis Hult spotted this on the EducationGuardian.co.uk site and thought you should see it.

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Note from Francis Hult:

Compulsory accreditation aims to weed out bogus EFL schools, reports Liz Ford 
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Government speaks language of control
Compulsory accreditation aims to weed out bogus EFL schools, reports Liz Ford
Friday March 10 2006
The Guardian


Compulsory accreditation for all language schools in Britain could soon become a reality under plans due to be published by the government this month. In its latest research findings on managing migration, the Home Office will state that all language schools will need to be accredited if they want to admit overseas students.

Such a move will help root out bogus colleges and students seeking to abuse the system and "ensure prospective international students will receive greater quality assurance in relation to the institutions in the UK", said a spokesman.

The Home Office would like the plan implemented within the next three years, although the finer details still need to be decided.

Up for discussion is likely to be whether the current accreditation system for English language schools should be streamlined to make one organisation responsible for all administration and inspections to ensure equal standards.

Government officials have already held preliminary discussions on the matter, said the spokesman.

At the moment, three ELT accrediting schemes operate in Britain - Accreditation UK, run by the British Council and English UK, arguably the world's largest quality assurance scheme, the Association of British Language Schools and the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes. 

If the government does decide to recognise one standard system, it could be good news for the British Council and English UK scheme, which the organisations renewed for a further five years last month. 

But the other schemes are likely to fight such a move, arguing that they provide sufficient assurance of quality and such a move would put them out of business and reduce choice.

Some 395 ELT providers are already accredited by the British Council, which accounts for up to 50% of the sector. Fiona Pape, manager of the council's English language quality services, said the organisation's world standing would make it the natural choice to oversee a standardised system.

"It's confusing to students overseas to have so many schemes. It will be much better for the Home Office to recognise one single national scheme," she says. "The British Council has been doing it for 40 years and as a quasi-governmental organisation it would make sense for us to do it."

Britain has been edging towards compulsory accreditation since the government launched its language school register almost two years ago, as a joint initiative between the Home Office and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). 

The register lists English language providers in the state and private sectors and only students applying to registered schools can be awarded visas or, for EU countries, leave to study. For their part, schools are now obliged to tell the Home Office if any students fail to arrive.

Although run by the DfES, the Home Office is the driving force behind the register, viewing it as a way of monitoring immigration and ensuring visas are only handed out to legitimate students. Its introduction followed a number of revelations about bogus colleges operating as visa factories.

The quality of education at registered schools, however, is variable, as accreditation is not a requirement of inclusion. Accredited centres are automatically put on the register, but those without a quality mark only need a business address and evidence that they offer some kind of education service in order to apply.

A DfES spokesman said the register provides a "safeguard" for students that there is a school for them to go to, but the department "has been talking about making more details [on schools] available".

English UK, an association of accredited language schools and training providers, has been pushing for greater quality control for some time. And last month's renewed agreement with the British Council is an attempt to make it easier for schools, especially smaller institutions, to gain a standards kite mark.

Schools on the DfES register that do not have accreditation tend to be the smaller establishments, which have found the process too bureaucratic and costly. The Accreditation UK system, formerly the English in Britain Accreditation scheme, seeks to reverse the trend.

With a strapline that reads Flexible, Accessible, Inclusive and Reasonably Priced - or Fair for short - the scheme promises to cut paperwork and reduce fees. 

Administration and inspection costs have been banded into three strands, allowing smaller schools to pay less, typically an annual fee of $1,057 instead of $1,406. The $440 "scrutiny" fee has been dropped, which means schools will only pay a $265 administration charge. 

The number of school inspectors has been reduced, but those still undertaking work are being asked to carry out more inspections to "ensure consistency and improved training". More information and support is now available online.

Both organisations insist that the changes do not compromise standards, although they concede that the introduction of the register did have a bearing on their talks to renew the scheme, which began some 18 months ago.

Tony Millns, chief executive of English UK, said that the reduced cost of the scheme would make it possible for organisations of different sizes and methodological approaches to gain accreditation, "while ensuring standards remain the same". 

"We're not saying it will be easier to get accreditation . . . If you look at the criteria, although it's been revised and remodelled, standards that an institution will have to meet will be much the same as the last five years," adds Millns.

At the official signing of the Accreditation UK agreement, Millns quoted Albert Einstein's remark that everything should be made as simple as possible, but not more so.

If ministers decide they want a more standardised form of accreditation for all registered schools, things could get a whole lot simpler.

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited