The Government is facing pushback from English language schools over plans to introduce “astronomical” student protection contributions alongside new fees and tighter regulation for providers.
The schools say they will be hit with contributions to a sinking fund for students whose providers fail, which may run to hundreds of thousands of euro.
Minister for Higher and Further Education Patrick O’Donovan is introducing a tighter regime for providers in the international education sector, which includes English language schools.
The schools will be asked to pay to receive an International Education Mark – branded as TrustEd Ireland.
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Obtaining the mark – which is not obligatory – will also involve providers submitting to a close inspection of the courses they offer, and detailing their financial and corporate structures.
English language schools will have to pay a fee of up to €30,000 to Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), which will run the scheme, depending on how large they are. This will be followed by an annual charge of up to €20,000 to receive the certification.
Lorcan O’Connor Lloyd, chief executive of Marketing English in Ireland, which represents 65 English language schools, said he welcomed the introduction of the new mark. He said he is not opposed in principle to the sinking fund concept, despite the existence of private insurance options to cover students, funded by colleges.
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He warned, however, that “absolutely astronomical” annual contributions to a fund for the Protection of Enrolled Learners (PEL) could rise as high as €250,000 annually for larger colleges.
David Russell, chairman of the Progressive Colleges Network, a lobby group representing nine English language schools, criticised the Government for what he said was late notice of “eye-watering” fees.
Government sources have said new regulations and fees will drive up standards and quality of governance in the sector. Regarding the protection contributions, a senior source said the current model of using private cover for students in the case of a school folding was too risky as it relied on a commercial decision by a private operator. “Ireland’s reputation and protecting international learners from this risk is more important when we balance things out.
“There is a business model that favours high volume/low cost provision, which is legitimate, but the outcomes must be of a standard that is comparable across the board,” the source added.
In a submission to the Oireachtas education committee earlier this year, the Irish Council for International Students said regulation had improved after a wave of closures in 2014-2015.
But even after these reforms, it said that five schools and several student recruitment agencies had gone into liquidation and that in all but one of these cases, students either lost money or missed out on classes they should have received. The group said it remains concerned over “dubious practices that continue to be carried out by a minority of schools”, blaming a lack of oversight and enforcement of regulations.
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Mr Russell said providers have not received inspections which the Government had indicated would be forthcoming under current regulations, and that it would be incorrect to say there was no oversight in the industry.
Mr O’Connor Lloyd said tighter regulation had been a “long time coming”.
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