Page 7 - ELG1906 May-Jun Issue 465

NEWS .
NEWS

British government under scrutiny over Mother and son win battle with school

treatment of students in Toeic test scandal By Matt Salusbury pay or overtime. Jarvis’s duration hours or conditions. Teaching
of service was wrongly given, with
English is not that type of work,”
Two English language teachers – the company name misspelled he explained. WIKIMEDIA
By Matt Salusbury A 2014 BBC documentary he’s fought, said judges had “real and suffering from severe mental a mother and son – who resisted several different ways. Jarvis described repeated threats
found evidence of some test concerns about the quality of health problems.” unfair contracts at their Japanese While Jarvis was initially of dismissal, as he and his mother
The UK Parliament’s watchdog, centres helping students to evidence” produced by the Home Stephen Timms MP, who has eikaiwa (English conversation disinclined to make an issue of his refused to sign. Management
the National Audit Office cheat in the exams. British MPs, Office. represented many of the students, school) have won huge payouts contract, he was inspired by his made minor concessions to them,
(NAO), has criticised the UK however, have expressed “grave The Guardian interviewed student called on the Home Office to after a two-and-a-half-year legal mother, who “absolutely refused but their names disappeared from
government for its handling concern” that so many candidates Raja Noman Hussein, who said allow students to sit another battle. to sign.” Powers told Japan Times, the teaching rota when they
of the cases of thousands of who sat the test between 2011 that while he was in immigration English test so they could resume The pair were aided by a “There’s a rumour that goes hadn’t signed by 1 January 2017.
international students caught up and 2014 were then accused detention, “Every day I met three their studies. recently-qualified lawyer fighting around the foreign community Sawafuji submitted a deposition
in the Toeic English test scandal of cheating. American exam or four new people who were being MPs have compared the Toeic his first case, who happened to be that we don’t have any rights… to the Tokyo District Court
in 2014. Following the scandal, board ETS, who created and detained because of Toeic.” Test- affair to last year’s Windrush one of their students. perpetuated by landlords and soon after. He explained that if
immigration authorities revoked administered the exams, told the takers stripped of their student scandal, in which at least 83 Afro- Mulele Jarvis, aged 48, had been employers who need to discourage the court rules the deposition is
the visas of 34,000 students, government analysts that its voice visas have been represented by Caribbean British citizens were teaching at the school for seven any protest. It’s not true.” justified, “the employer is required
forcibly deporting more than recognition software suggested the charity Migrant Voice, whose wrongly deported. Compensation years, and in Japan for a total The two teachers showed their to pay living expenses for the
2,500. that, over a five-year period, more director Nazek Ramadan said that, for the victims of that affair is of 28 years. His mother Cindy contracts to newly-qualified employees while the entire legal
The NAO report found the than 50,000 students had cheated. “many of the students are destitute estimated at around £200 million. Powers taught at the same school lawyer Taiga Sawafuji, a student process unfolds.” Signs advertising eikaiwa
government had failed to protect However, an appeals part-time. Jarvis told Japan Times of Jarvis who took their case Jarvis went unpaid until May schools in Tokyo
“those who did not cheat but Court ruling in 2016, he’d previously “signed pretty on the basis of being paid on 2017, when a judge awarded him one year’s salary in severance
who were still caught up in the which ETS failed to much whatever I was given.” settlement. Sawafuji noted that living expenses of ¥250,000 a pay. Both Jarvis and Powers were
process.” attend, dismissed this MIGRANT VOICE In August 2016, management 2013 amendments to the Labour month. Powers received half that awarded several years’ salary just
The Home Office faces evidence as ‘hearsay’. informed Jarvis and Powers, both Contracts Act give workers on as she had another job. Jarvis weeks before a judge would have
more than 300 appeals court The government, salaried teachers, that the eikaiwa a series of fixed-term contracts described the “beautiful moment” forced a settlement.
challenges from students, most however, continued to had a change of ownership and the right to a permanent when two “executioners” (officers Sawafuji points to organisations
from South Asia, who believe pursue some 36,000 that they’d be given new contracts. contract after five years, and of the court) accompanied him such as the Japan Legal Support
they were wrongly accused students it believed But these “questionable that the contracts’ wording on and his mother to collect their Centre that offer consultation
of cheating. Until 2017, UK to have cheated, contracts” listed both teachers “independent contractors” was back pay from the company safes. on a needs-assessed basis and
immigration rules meant that detaining many and as “independent contractors” problematic. Teachers “cannot Two more years of legal battles recommends joining a union.
affected students had to return deporting more than instead of “workers”, with no in normal situations be hired for followed as the school rejected “Know your rights and don’t
home before they could appeal 2,500. references to their existing holiday a specific job without regard to the judge’s offer to settle with give up.”
their case. These regulations Students who found
were overruled by the court, the money to appeal
leading to hundreds of students have discovered that Tall tales to tempt learners Japanese chain slashes
being stranded in the UK for up the Home Office’s
to five years while they brought grounds for revoking By Matt Salusbury one-to-one school sites
their cases to court. their visas have been transported to an alien world, the
The Guardian newspaper “insubstantial.” Patrick The Japanese government is title, which translates as ‘English
reports that a special Home Office Lewis, a barrister getting into the anime business, Fundamentals 2’, is rather less By Matt Salusbury profit within a certain period of
team has been set up to deal with who has won all but International students accused by the Home Offi ce of cheating in with the publication of a new book romantic. The Coco Juku English time,” according to Japan Times.
the backlog of legal actions. one of the 15 cases Toeic English tests demonstrate in Parliament Square in January 2019 featuring a Japanese schoolgirl, a The tale is the latest printed language school chain closed 51 The eikaiwa (‘English
swordsman and a warrior princess partwork which accompanies of its 72 schools across Japan on conversation school’) model,
on the front cover. the ‘English Fundamentals’ 31 March. The chain’s owner, the where students buy “points” for
Though the plotline fits radio series, a course for English Nichii Gakkan Company, said it lessons up-front, in a system a bit
newsinbrief neatly into the isegai genre, language learners produced by planned to transfer teachers to like gym membership, has been in
where a modern-day human is NHK, Japan’s public service other schools. trouble for some time.
broadcaster, which also publishes The chain employs 560 staff, Japan’s biggest eikaiwa chain,
ESTONIA: Estonia’s AUSTRALIA: The INDIA: Rumours TURKEY: A Turkish NEW ZEALAND: ETHIOPIA: ೥ ݄ ೔ൃߦɾൃചʢຖ݄ ճ ೔ൃߦɾൃചʣ ৽։ߨʂ the books. including teachers, managers and Geos, went bankrupt in 2010,
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Minister of Australian state of surround language school was A college in Among the 157 NHK ݄ ೔ The print story, which support personnel, according to while the huge Nova chain went
Education, Mailis Victoria has capped forthcoming Hindi- ordered to pay 73,000 Auckland, New people killed in جૅӳޠ 2 ớ݄Ờ features a second-year junior the Japan Times. It is unclear how under in 2007.
Reps, announced international language fi lm lira (around $13,000) Zealand was the Ethiopian high school girl, a dragon and many jobs will be lost. Coco Juku Junior began in 2012
in May that state enrolments into English Medium, to Harvard University fi ned $40,000 Airlines crash at ߨࢣ 4.1-5.3
2019
ߴాஐࢠ a magic kingdom, is designed Nichii Gakkan added that it as an operation to teach children
secondary school its state primary featuring superstar for unauthorised after admitting Addis Abbaba to cover the vocabulary plans to offer refunds for lessons one-to-one, with the Coco Juku
students with and secondary Irrfan Khan. A sequel use of its name. to 52 counts Airport in March
high-level English schools at 5,750, to smash hit Hindi An Istanbul court of immigration was Spanish and grammar introduced in paid for up-front, including chain starting a year later to teach
will be able to take following a surge Medium, it centres ruled that ‘Harvard fraud, in the fi rst national Pilar upcoming episodes, which deal to around 1,450 adults at its group English lessons to adults.
Cambridge English in applications. on a couple whose Yabanci Dil’ had case of its kind. Martinez Docampo, with the function of talking various branches, as well as 4,040 Nichii Gakkan, whose core
Assessment’s CAE Some 300 schools daughter, studying granted franchises The International who had lived in about yourself. “younger” students taught by its business is medical services and
exam free of charge across Victoria in the US, faces which breached College of Auckland London for seven Among the phrases students Coco Juku Junior one-to-one care homes, also owns Gaba Corp
from September. recruit international “trouble fi tting into trademark law. had given receipts years and worked learn are “A dragon captured operation. (acquired 2011) a one-to-one
Previously, only the students, with a system where The school owner showing students there as a chef. Princess Jonquil of Blossom Another fifteen schools in the English conversation operation
state school leaving parents paying up English is the primary argued that the had paid their She was on her way ͱ͡ࠐΈ෇࿥ Kingdom” and “Japan? I don’t group are “expected” to close for adults, which remains in
exam in English, at to $15,000 a year spoken language”, name referred to a course fees in full, to teach English She loves fantasy stories. ੾Γऔͬͯ࢖͑Δ
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level B2, was free of for a high school according to the geographical region when they had only language as a LEVEL
C2 C1 designed to delight the otaku, company. The decision by Nichii In 2018 the Coco Juku one-to-
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charge. place. Times of India. of Massachusetts. paid them in part. volunteer in Kenya. ୈ ์ૹ ݄༵ʙ༵ۚ ݄༵ʙ༵ۚ ޕલ d B2 B1 A2
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Can anime animate Japanese and lure them into learning Juku operation came after they Gaba and branded as 'Gaba man-
English language learners? English. “were deemed unlikely to turn a to-man eikaiwa.'
6 May/June 2019 editorial@elgazette.com 7