Page 4 - ELG1601 Mar Issue 434

ELlanguage news
Page 4 March 2016

UK enlists schools Students

in ‘war on terror’ slam LSBF

THE PRIVATE college London
School of Business and Finance
MELANIE BUTLER vation and Skills (BIS), and During Prevent inspections (LSBF) lost UK government
writes failure to comply with the meas- schools will be asked to provide permission to recruit and spon-
ures may lead to closure. BIS recorded evidence of promoting sor non-EU students in January.
BRITISH EL course providers is planning to inspect around British values, which are cat- Regulations state that if more
now have a duty to safeguard fifty centres a year out of a total egorised as democracy, the rule than 10 per cent of its students
students against extremism as of over 550 British-Council- of law, individual liberty and have their visa refused in a
part of the government’s anti- accredited centres. respectful tolerance of differ- twelve-month period, an institu-
terrorism Prevent strategy. Measures that language ent faiths and beliefs. Freedom tion automatically loses its UK
Under the Counter-Terrorism schools must implement include of speech, which only became Visas and Immigration licence,
and Security Act 2015, language appointing a staff member to enshrined in English law with and international students must
schools, colleges and universi- lead on the strategy and act as a the Human Rights Act of 1998, leave the UK within sixty days.
ties must ‘have due regard to single point of contact, engaging is not on the list. Approximately 350 students at
the need to prevent people from with local police Prevent staff Terrorist incidents and allega- LSBF have had their visas curtailed
being drawn into terrorism’. and preparing an EAP – nothing tions against English language Courtesy Liz McLaren and must leave before April. Most
The measures outlined in the to do with academic English but students are not unknown in of them are in their final year of a
Prevent strategy, which include an Emergency Action Plan. the UK. In the last known case bachelors degree or masters, and
schools exemplifying core British According to guidance issued 26-year-old Abdoul Khan, LSBF has designed new timetables
values and training all staff and by language centre associa- described by the press as an EFL to cram the teaching load of courses
host families using the govern- tion English UK, schools using student, was deported in 2009 to Honour for McLaren meant to end in June into six weeks.
ment’s free online materials, have agencies for host family accom- Pakistan after being held on sus- For students on longer courses, the
been incorporated into the Accredi- modation need to update their picion of being a member of an Elizabeth McLaren, head of the British Council alternative is to enrol at LSBF’s sis-
tation UK Handbook for 2016–17, contracts to ensure the require- al-Qaeda cell. accreditation unit, standing outside Buckingham ter institutions in Italy or France.
in line with the regulations for ments are met, while those in Centres in England, Scotland Palace with her British Empire Medal, presented to Chief executive of the UK
further education, which cover areas without a police Prevent and Wales must be compliant her by Prince Charles in February. Liz was awarded Council for International Student
all language centres, according to officer should contact a neigh- with the strategy from the end her medal for services to English language schools Affairs Dominic Scott told the
Elizabeth McLaren of the British bouring force. The measures also of this month. The Prevent leg- in the Queen’s birthday honours list, which also BBC that international students
Council’s Accreditation Unit. require schools to block extrem- islation does not cover Northern featured the University of Bedford’s Professor Cyril deserve protection.
From December language ist websites, but where schools Ireland, where dissident republi- Weir, who was made an officer of the Order of the The students affected said they
centres have been subject to can find a list of the websites cans fighting against the peace British Empire in recognition of his services for felt punished for mistakes made by
inspection by officials from the to be blocked remains unclear, agreement opened fire on a English language assessment. their college, and have asked LSBF
Department for Business, Inno- according to English UK. police car in November. n for a full refund of their fees. n

International higher education

hub on its way in South India

SUNEETHA at addressing the brain drain of drum in January was held to
BALAKRISHNAN educated Keralis. The state’s ‘facilitate an exchange of views’,
reports form Trivandrum best-known export is the flow of according to KSHEC vice-chair-
manpower going to work in both man T. P. Sreenivasan. The GEM
KERALA ACADEMIC City and the West and the Middle East, with hosted 23 delegates from ten
International Higher Education an estimated 2.4 million Keralis countries and around 75 investors
Zones, a planned south Indian working abroad, sending home other than academics. It produced
higher education hub, has been remittances of around £7 billion the Kovalam Declaration, a list
given a tentative green light by annually. An increasing number of of 32 recommendations aimed at
the state’s government. Kerali students migrate out of the making Kerala an international
The south Indian state of state and even out of India, seek- education hub, marketing the state
Kerala is known for high levels ing quality education. as a ‘smart destination’ for foreign
of literacy. Dubai is a four-hour International gatherings in 2011 investment and international stu-
flight from the international and 2014 discussed transnational dents following the Dubai model.
airport in its state capital Trivan- education opportunities and how KSHEC is awaiting the finali-
drum, so the project has the to improve the quality of Kerala’s sation of legislation establishing
potential to attract students from higher education, as envisaged by the Academic City and the nam-
the Gulf States for English- the Kerala State Higher Education ing of a location before any
medium university courses. Council (KSHEC). foreign or private universities
But the Academic City’s foun- A Global Education Meet can be established.
dation seems to be aimed more (GEM) at Kovalam near Trivan- The state legislature’s Left
Front has already raised objec-
News in brief tions to the proposal, claiming
the Academic City had its gen-
esis in WTO negotiations and
represents education as a com-
Cabbies face English test modity and not as an instrument
of development. With elec-
LONDON MINICAB drivers will face an English language test, tions for the state government
according to Transport for London (TfL). This new measure approaching, the fate of the
compels private-hire minicab drivers to demonstrate a certain Academic City is now subject to
standard of English if they want to work in the UK capital. This the will of the next government
is just one of the measures that TfL has proposed following a sworn into power in May. n
public consultation with more than 16,000 respondents. The
number of minicabs in London has grown rapidly, from 59,000 in
2009 to 95,000 in 2016, BT’s website reported.
Apology
Tefler arrested for jailbreak Apologies to IH New-
castle for missing it
AN ENGLISH language teacher was arrested in February in out of the listing of Clil
connection with the escape of three ‘dangerous fugitives’ from courses in the February
a prison in California, Fox News website reported. Nooshafarin issue. In fact it offers
Ravaghi was teaching English as a second language to inmates. Clil with TKT as well as
She was arrested after the police discovered that she may have Teaching Methodology
supplied maps to the men before their escape from Orange courses, all eligible for
County Central Men’s Jail outside Los Angeles. Erasmus+ funding.