Page 7 - ELG1704 Apr Issue 446

NEWS

LORDS REVOLT OVER WELL

VERSED
HIGHER EDUCATION BILL IN WELSH

By: Irena Barker

An academic is planning
By: Claudia Civinini Theresa May to remove international students to write his own Japanese-
from the net migration figures (see September 2015 Welsh coursebooks for
The House of Lords of the UK Parliament has Gazette). Japanese people wanting to
voted against the government on two hot topics A report by the Times called into question gov- learn the Celtic language.
for international higher education: the inclusion of ernment claims that ‘tens of thousands’ of students Lecturer Takeshi Koike
international students in the net migration figures overstayed their visa, showing that only about 1 per learned the language in
and the use of the Teaching Excellence Framework cent do so. Nevertheless, a further crackdown on 1992 as a 21-year-old
(TEF) to determine universities’ ability to recruit international student numbers was announced late studying English at what
students from abroad. last year in a bid to reduce immigration figures. was then Saint David’s
In March, the Lords voted in favour of Amend- The new drive, it seemed, would involve the use University College in
ment 150 to the Higher Education Bill, which of another bête noire of the international educa- Lampeter, Wales.
would ensure that students are not treated as long tion sector, the TEF, to determine which ‘quality’ He now teaches at
term migrants to the UK. institutions would be able to enrol international Tokyo’s Daito Bunka
One of the supporters of the amendment, Lord students. University where more
Hannay of Chiswick, highlighted research from The House of Lords voted for another amend- than 120 young people
Universities UK showing that international students ment to the Bill which would ‘prohibit the use of the have taken his 30 week
contributed about £25.8 billion to the UK economy TEF ranking in either the setting of the student fee course so far.
and supported 206,600 full time jobs nationally in cap or the number of students that a university can The course, being taught
2014-2015. recruit’, for both home and international students. under the Department
In 2015, the international education and ELT The TEF measures student satisfaction, of English and American
sectors in the UK lobbied the then Home Secretary retention rates and employment opportunities, Literature, allows students
excluding research quality (usually assessed by the to explore the Welsh
Research Excellence Framework). As we went language and its culture,
to press, the Bill hadn’t yet been returned to the literature and art.
House of Commons for the final vote. Mr Koike said: ‘My
students have responded
206,600 learning about Wales.
really well. They love
To them it is almost a
theoretical language, but if
they visit Wales they always
tell me how amazing it is to
full time jobs supported see it as a living language.’
Heledd Gwyndaf, chair of
by international student the Welsh Language Society,
spending said: ‘Like learning any
language, becoming fluent in
Welsh opens doors to a new
Data: Universities UK world.’

PRESTON RHEA IMAMS COULD BE ASKED TO
‘PREACH IN ENGLISH’

By: Irena Barker countries that have begun
asking for sermons be published
Imams could be asked to preach in English online.
in English, under new meas- A senior government source
ures to target hate preachers. told the Telegraph: “If imams are
Reports in the Daily Telegraph speaking in another language it
said that the UK’s counter-ex- makes it far harder to know if
tremism taskforce is developing radicalisation is taking place.”
the plans because it believes A survey of 300 mosques
foreign language use perpetu- in 2007 found that just 8 per
ates divisions between Islam cent of imams were born in
and mainstream British society. the UK and only 6 per cent of
Sources said ministers were them spoke English as a first
Muslims praying in a mosque inspired by some Middle Eastern language.

editorial@elgazette.com 7

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