Job Discussion Forums

[ancient_dweller]

i started researching tefl jobs on ESP in London, i contacted the providers. Having no luck one very honest person explained to me that they get suckers to sign up to the ESP courses (usually at a premium) then when they arrive tell them there are not enough students and slap them with 12 other people on a general course. Seems easy when most schools T&C's are illegal and if someone actually took a school to court it might warn them about this malpractice. T&C's include a clause that says the school reserves the right to cancel, alter etc... And also clauses saying no refunds. Or refunds subject to extortionate admin fees. Oh, and that's all on top of the flights and accomodation the students forked out...

[crewmeal1]

Sadly it seems the norm with many Asians. They recruit agents in their own country and students sign up for various courses. They pay anything up to �9000 for a year's tuition at some dump. Many arrive here in the UK and disappear into the system and become illegal immigrants. The genuine ones who want to study find that their courses are worthless because the colleges have broken accreditation rules, and so the list goes on. Some even find that registration fees and exams are extra. When they ask for their money back it becomes a no no.

What upsets me and I've seen this many times is that families have sold property land etc to fund these poor people and at the end of it they get nothing. No wonder the UK is getting a bad name in education abroad.

At least UKBA have now tightened up student rules about working part time. It is now zero hours. Also many students are questioned on their English ability when they arrive and if it's not up to standard they're sent back on the next flight.

[Madame J]

[crewmeal1]

Firstly it will hopefully help filter out genuine students from those who just want to 'live' here. Secondly a certain level of English is required for level 4 - 7 courses.

[Dedicated]

Actually the UK government, under the Tier 4 regulations, has cut the number of working hours studying below degree level courses from 20 hours to 10 hours per week. They also need a good standard of English, roughly equivalent to IELTS 5.5, and an acceptance letter from a recognised institution.

The idea is to stop "bogus" students just coming to work

www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

[ancient_dweller]

the point i made was nothing to do with working. The majority of students are legitimate and come to study not to work. Working during studying should not be a right. Although, one can hardly argue against it during undergraduate or postgraduate study.

My point was that schools are deliberately misleading students and not just the 'asian' ones referred to above. These are major schools - some affiliated with universities but i won't name them here.

At the end of the day i wanted a teaching job. Students are the ones being screwed. The media portrays Russia in a negative light but the kind of illegal nonsense english schools put students through would not be tolerated in Russia. Foreign students have this naive view that English schools are somehow right because english law has a mythical status as a supreme being. (mind you. Judicial services sit alongside the arms trade as UKs biggest export). Anyway, schools know the law only works fo people with money.

[Mikalina]

Students need proof of their language ability when applying for a visa. This is a nice little earner for the exam boards in England who have created such exams and a nice little earner for the language schools in other countries 'attached' to these boards who become test centres.