Page 8 - ELG2005 Jul Issue 471

NEWS . NEWS

British Council back from the brink Roger Bowers: the man

but fears for future remain who took UK ELT to the top

By Melanie Butler
STUDYBAY Melanie Butler recalls the influence
The British Council, one of the
world’s biggest providers of of a cherished friend and mentor
English language courses and
teacher training, has been saved HORNBY EDUCATIONAL TRUST
from bankruptcy by an emergency ou have to look at everything in ELT, sectors of British EFL and drive the
injection of £60 million from the every aspect,” Roger Bowers, who profession forward.
UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth has died aged 77, would always tell He always kept an eye out for the
Office. “Yme. “You have to see the whole competition. When a young Stephen
The money, which is in picture.” And, for 50 years, he not only Krashen gave a triumphal speech at
addition to the £28 million paid in managed to know almost everything there Iatefl, he commented, “Very interesting
May following an outcry in was to know about the ELT profession – he – but it will never work in Europe.”
Parliament, will only cover the refused to call it an industry – he wanted to From the mid-80s he used his post as
Council’s operating costs until harness that knowledge to unite it. Director of the British Council’s English
mid-August, according to press I was a wet-behind-the-ears newspaper Department to coax and chivvy the
reports, and its long-term editor when we first met. He took me under squabbling sector to work together.
prospects remain unclear. his wing and, determined to educate me, sent British ELT school owners would groan
The Council, which has me reports to read, seminars to attend and when referred to as “our language school
remained largely silent in the face regular updates on the Council’s latest plans. constituency.” “Nobody elected him,”
of the political storm, has One of the many affected British Council teaching centres, in busier times My best inside source as a journalist, he they would say, though they were
launched an online learning would pick my brain in return. After yet grudgingly grateful that somebody was
project offering courses for young been forced to close, adding, “we UK language schools – many of Even if it survives, the Council another workshop, or the presentation of yet listening.
learners, general English and are now re-opening our centres whom have also been forced is facing significant cuts. In a another British Council organigram, we “He spends too much time talking to
IELTS preparation. A Council where it is safe to do so.” online by the Covid-19 crisis. The letter to the PCS Union a Foreign would sit in the fug of the smoking room at Cambridge,” exam boards would
spokesperson told the Gazette that In 2018-2019, the Council Council, which administers the Office official warned that the the Council’s London headquarters, grumble. “He spends too much time on
85,000 of its existing students had turned over £1.25 billion, the UK language centre accreditation British Council should review its exchanging scuttlebutt about Spanish the others,” Cambridge would glower
been moved online. “To achieve spokesperson confirmed. Roughly scheme on a cost-covering basis, financial position and language schools or the latest tittle-tattle on back. The publishers, all 24 of them,
this, we accelerated the online 15 per cent, or £184 million, was has an agreement not to run opportunities to “make takeovers in ELT publishing. were busy fighting like ferrets in a sack – Roger Bowers
English language teaching and government funding and of that, schools in Britain. efficiencies to ensure it can Often warm and charming, his intellectual though when he talked, they listened.
learning solutions we were already 145 million was ring-fenced for Asked if running online courses continue to operate and trade.” acuity and grim determination could be By 1989, he had achieved his aim. A charge of setting up a new headquarters in
piloting,” the Gazette was told. development activity. This leaves was not a conflict of interest, the The Union is “concerned that disconcerting. He reminded me of the clever government report on Cultural Diplomacy Manchester. I’d never seen him so happy.
In 2018-19, British Council them heavily dependent on spokesperson responded: “As a the government will attach young men of my end-of-Empire childhood in found that UK schools dominated language While his long-term partner, Jenny Pugsley,
teaching centres had some income generated by the English result of the pandemic, we conditions to any further Africa, who were just travel, UK publishers knocked the accreditation scheme into
420,000 students enrolled, and Exams Department, which accelerated our online teaching additional funding granted.” In down from Oxbridge were number one in shape, Roger, no longer confined to EFL,
according to their last published came to £727 million last year, solutions to meet the needs of addition to ‘structural changes,’ with a half-written He understood the the global book became fascinated by the challenge of
accounts. including £125 million in exams learners. Many institutions, both the PCS warns of potential novel in their back market and while the making the Council more business-like.
Somewhat unusually, the fees that were remitted through to in the UK and overseas, have political interference. pocket, sent out to power of the new Americans still led in “We’ve had some really great management
campaign to save the Council has UK exam bodies. done the same.” In a statement, it calls for the Africa to ‘run’ methodology and used testing, the new skills- consultants in, Melanie,” he told me as he
been led by the Public and As a non-governmental “While continuing to offer Council to be “allocated sufficient Togoland or the Masai based exams like unveiled the latest restructuring plan, “you
Commercial Services (PCS) organisation and a registered online learning solutions, we’re funding to continue operating Mara. it to unite the warring IELTS were rapidly would have loved their ideas.”
Trade Union, which represents charity, the British Council is not- eager to see students return to the independently of ministerial His early career catching up. When he left the British Council in the
many British Council staff. The for-profit but has generated UK’s accredited English language control.” with the Council, sectors of British EFL and He had marched us late 1990s, he bid to set up an Institute of
Union has lobbied parliament, fed income from its language schools centres and strongly believe in the “Its arm’s-length relationship to which he joined in drive the profession up to the top of the ELT funded by the Council. The project
information to the press and set since the first ones were value of studying there,” they government is an important factor 1965, also has the ring hill. And then the instead went to a young man who had a plan
up a petition to save the Council established in 1938. added. in its global success,” it added. of Empire – Ghana, forward. Berlin wall came to run it on the cheap out of his back
on 38degrees.org. “Our English and Exams Egypt, India – but down. bedroom. It sank without a trace. It was the
According to the PCS, since business is not supported by our … Roger was strictly a Post-Colonial; the only Bringing English to Eastern and Central end of the dream for a recognised ELT
the closure of 90 per cent of its funding from the UK BC to accredit online ELT empire he was interested in building was the Europe was Roger Bowers’ finest hour. While profession.
teaching centres during the government,” their spokesperson empire of the English language, and it was the US parachuted in regiments of ill-trained But it was not the end of Roger Bowers.
pandemic, the Council has been explained. “Our work in this area By Melanie Butler the power of American English he wanted to native speakers, Roger devised a plan to build He went on to run Trinity College London,

losing £40 million a month. is part of our charitable mission, contain. a network of local English specialists to immersing himself in the world of dance and
Approached by the Gazette, the which, while profitable, is run on The British Council has extended its accreditation scheme It was his understanding of the changes retrain the teachers of Russian, teaching drama while Jenny weaved her magic on the
for UK language centres to include live online courses.
Council declined to correct or a not-for-profit basis: we reinvest taking place in UK Applied Linguistics which them English and using Cambridge exams as Trinity ESOL teacher training department.
Accredited language centres will have to submit a self-
deny the figure, commenting only the commercial surpluses back evaluation and a separate risk assessment for safeguarding was his greatest strength. It was the 1980s, a way of measuring their progress. I thought After he retired in 2006 he became chairman
that “like thousands of into our non-commercial activities and the Communicative Revolution was he had gone mad. of the Hornby Trust. He and Jenny were
organisations around the world,” in support of building connections, under-18s where appropriate. Inspection of the online gaining ground. Roger had been seconded to “They don’t speak English,” I objected. married in 2009.
provision will be undertaken, “when circumstances permit”.
it was, “in a very difficult financial understanding and trust between teach at the University of Birmingham and “They are good linguists,” he retorted, “from Roger Bowers OBE, CMG died on the 21st
The move, “has been driven by our strong desire to
situation as a result of Covid-19.” the UK and other countries.” continue to support accredited language centres and then completed his PhD at the University of a great tradition of language teachers. They of April. Two days later, an Early Day motion
A spokesperson did confirm The same would appear to be Reading, both hotbeds of new ideas. He can do it.” And they did. was laid in the British parliament calling on
that over 90 per cent of the true of their new online courses, promote learning in the home of the English language,” a understood the power of the new Roger’s reward was to become Deputy the government to save the British Council.
spokesperson for the British Council told the Gazette.
English and Exams operation had which may raise eyebrows among methodology and used it to unite the warring Director of the British Council and be put in We shall not see his like again.
8 July 2020 editorial@elgazette.com 9