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English language tests riddled with fraud!

 
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damn_my_eyes



Joined: 13 Jul 2013
Posts: 225

PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 3:27 am    Post subject: English language tests riddled with fraud! Reply with quote

The Home Office has suspended English-language tests run by a major company after a TV investigation claimed Britain's student visa system is riddled with fraud.

In the footage the "fake sitter" taking the BBC researcher's exam is seen answering questions in the written and oral papers in perfect English. Meanwhile the registered candidates are seen standing quietly in the aisle waiting their turn to be called to the front of the room to have their photo taken by an invigilator to "prove" they sat the test.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/feb/10/student-visa-tests-suspended-fraud

Shouldn't really be surprised about this kind of story. Seems as though the majority of people everywhere would rather cheat than actually work hard.
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 3:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I heard this on BBC this morning and hope to watch the full programme on BBC Panorama tonight. Further evidence that Britain is well on the road to becoming a Third World country. This is what we routinely see ion Lagos, Manila or Hyderabad.
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HLJHLJ



Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador

PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 4:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The only surprise here is that the government continues to feign surprise. It's been going on forever, and they pretend to deal with it by bringing in tighter and tighter regulations for students, whilst allowing the institutions who are actually perpetrating the fraud to continue unchecked and unsupervised. In the the unlikely event that they do get caught, they are given a token slap on the wrist and have their licence revoked. Then they reopen with a new name shortly after, get a new licence and carry on as they always did. It's a money making scheme for everyone concerned.
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fat_chris



Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 3198
Location: Beijing

PostPosted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good Old Blighty!

Warm regards,
fat_chris
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Shroob



Joined: 02 Aug 2010
Posts: 1339

PostPosted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 5:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, what did people think of the show?

The system seems rife with corruption, but I doubt anything will change. No one will go to jail, they'll just set up another company and continue as they have been doing.

I can see universities relying on their own in-house language proficiency tests.
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fat_chris



Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 3198
Location: Beijing

PostPosted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 6:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shroob wrote:
Well, what did people think of the show?


Jolly good! Jolly good! Encore! Encore!

Sorry Shroob, I couldn't resist. Embarassed

Warm regards,
fat_chris
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fat_chris



Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 3198
Location: Beijing

PostPosted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 6:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shroob wrote:
The system seems rife with corruption, but I doubt anything will change. No one will go to jail, they'll just set up another company and continue as they have been doing.

I can see universities relying on their own in-house language proficiency tests.


Most likely. I presume you are correct with this.

Warm regards,
fat_chris
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damn_my_eyes



Joined: 13 Jul 2013
Posts: 225

PostPosted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 7:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was a bit surprised at how much the agencies were charging for their "services".
Apart from that no surprises. Shameless cheating and contempt for the law. Empty promises from the minister.

https://tvchaosuk.com/Panorama_Immigration_Undercover_The_Student_Visa_Scandal_10_Feb_2014_mp4_INTERNAL-s-67230.ts
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LongShiKong



Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China

PostPosted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 7:33 am    Post subject: Re: English language tests riddled with fraud! Reply with quote

damn_my_eyes wrote:
...Meanwhile the registered candidates are seen standing quietly in the aisle waiting their turn to be called to the front of the room to have their photo taken by an invigilator to "prove" they sat the test.[/i]


I had to look up this word:
invigilator: someone who watches examination candidates to prevent cheating

The question is, who's cheating who? If foreign students have to bribe this invigilator for the chance of studying in the UK and then as a result of their inadequate English, learn little, do they not have to once again bribe another invigilator to get credit for academic courses they might otherwise fail? If all they need is the foreign credential to get ahead back home, then that seems a likely scenario rather than reporting it to authorities.
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crewmeal1



Joined: 08 Jul 2010
Posts: 75

PostPosted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 7:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote]This is what we routinely see ion Lagos, Manila or Hyderabad.[/quote]

Sadly its people from these countries who are allowed to settle in the UK that bring down the standard of teaching in their so called colleges and schools along with ripping off students with worthless pieces of paper called certificates.
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damn_my_eyes



Joined: 13 Jul 2013
Posts: 225

PostPosted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 8:47 am    Post subject: Re: English language tests riddled with fraud! Reply with quote

LongShiKong wrote:
damn_my_eyes wrote:
...Meanwhile the registered candidates are seen standing quietly in the aisle waiting their turn to be called to the front of the room to have their photo taken by an invigilator to "prove" they sat the test.[/i]


I had to look up this word:
invigilator: someone who watches examination candidates to prevent cheating

The question is, who's cheating who? If foreign students have to bribe this invigilator for the chance of studying in the UK and then as a result of their inadequate English, learn little, do they not have to once again bribe another invigilator to get credit for academic courses they might otherwise fail? If all they need is the foreign credential to get ahead back home, then that seems a likely scenario rather than reporting it to authorities.


I thinks it's more of a case of loopholes in the system being exploited. The motivation behind this is more likely to find work on the black market for as long as they can get away with and send money back home. Rather than get an education.
From the programme it seemed as though everyone involved was complicit with each other in this, students, agencies, test centres, colleges. So long as they get their 10%.

I've heard there's good money to be had working in the farms picking fruit and veg. None of the locals want to do it because it involves hard work!

The 21 Chinese cockle pickers who died in 2004 were part of a similar set up.
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LongShiKong



Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China

PostPosted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 9:49 am    Post subject: Re: English language tests riddled with fraud! Reply with quote

damn_my_eyes wrote:
I've heard there's good money to be had working in the farms picking fruit and veg. None of the locals want to do it because it involves hard work!


It must be good money if Chinese migrant workers posing as students, bribe their way through English proficiency tests just to pick fruit and vegetables temporarily. I can't imagine migrant workers in Canada doing that.
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wonderingjoesmith



Joined: 19 Aug 2012
Posts: 910
Location: Guangzhou

PostPosted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 6:01 am    Post subject: Re: English language tests riddled with fraud! Reply with quote

damn_my_eyes wrote:
LongShiKong wrote:
damn_my_eyes wrote:
...Meanwhile the registered candidates are seen standing quietly in the aisle waiting their turn to be called to the front of the room to have their photo taken by an invigilator to "prove" they sat the test.[/i]


I had to look up this word:
invigilator: someone who watches examination candidates to prevent cheating

The question is, who's cheating who? If foreign students have to bribe this invigilator for the chance of studying in the UK and then as a result of their inadequate English, learn little, do they not have to once again bribe another invigilator to get credit for academic courses they might otherwise fail? If all they need is the foreign credential to get ahead back home, then that seems a likely scenario rather than reporting it to authorities.


I thinks it's more of a case of loopholes in the system being exploited. The motivation behind this is more likely to find work on the black market for as long as they can get away with and send money back home. Rather than get an education.
From the programme it seemed as though everyone involved was complicit with each other in this, students, agencies, test centres, colleges. So long as they get their 10%.

I've heard there's good money to be had working in the farms picking fruit and veg. None of the locals want to do it because it involves hard work!

The 21 Chinese cockle pickers who died in 2004 were part of a similar set up.
They don't have to cheat, they don't have to work and they don't have to die in the US. They can study, pass and graduate. Americans are more practical and more likely less traditional than Brits. Harvard, for example, routinely graduates students who demonstrate capabilities to survive in their field rather than in the language. Having said that, however, keep in mind that in such system not everyone is eligible.
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