The visa system was overhauled – again – in March 2011 – with the announcement that all education providers would have to be accredited by a handful of general education assessment bodies rather than sector-specific experts to be able to continue to issue visas under the Tier 4 General Student Visa scheme and attain/retain their status as Highly Trusted Sponsors (HTS).

English language requirements were raised at the same time for undergraduate-level students, but not for English language students, who had to continue to prove a B1 (intermediate) level.

In the case of private English language schools – after an initial delay while no accreditation body raised its hand – it was deemed that this meant Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) accreditation, for the large part.

ISI had no history of working with ELT, it seemed reluctant to work with Accreditation UK (by the admission of Tony Millns, Chief Executive of English UK); and, notably, was extremely expensive. Four-times as expensive as usual accreditation schemes used in the sector.

In the meantime, the ability for each educator to issue Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) – required to enable students to receive their visa – was capped until the accreditation process was completed.

That’s not all. Part-time work rights were stripped for visa holders at private institutions, with significant consequences. This week on BBC Radio 4, John Sanders, Director of Cavendish College in London, spoke about a drop at his school of 70% in enrollments as a result of this legislation – with the outcome being his school has been sold.

Part-time work rights were stripped for visa holders at private institutions

However, the ELT sector was thrown one lifeline – temporarily at least. Schools would be able to accept non-EU nationals on the Extended Student Visitor Visa (ESVV) route, which is not part of the Tier 4 visa route which processes General Student Visas.

Non-EU students can study for up to 11 months on this visa – as long as they return home at the end of their stay and do not hope to transfer on to another course. This ESVV route will be reassessed by government in the next few months.

It’s fair to say that the introduction of the ISI accreditation scheme and associated changes to legislation has caused consternation among the private English language teaching sector. English UK is particularly clear on the measures, describing them as, “particularly damaging change for the sector”, and citing the “four-fold increase in inspection costs for most private colleges”.

Millns at English UK, said, “Colleges believe their next mandatory inspection is likely to cost an average of over £10,500, compared with £3,253 for their previous [sector-specific] Accreditation UK inspection.”

He added that the majority of institutions surveyed say they face a double burden of costs as they need to keep their internationally recognised Accreditation UK status up-to-date as well in order to be able to accept ESVV students. “The total average cost of £14,000 would be uneconomic for many language colleges.”

Peter Hayes is Director of Inlingua Manchester and one of those who has chosen to operate in Tier 4, remain HTS compliant and so gain ISI accreditation. “We felt that [the ISI route] was the most pragmatic route to…comply with UKBA regulation, retain our Tier 4 licence and continue to be a Highly Trusted Sponsor,” he says.

In Hayes’ view, he is doing nothing less than ‘future proofing’ his business

Hayes strikes a positive note when he says: “As safety is our priority when looking after [young] international students, we felt that the ISI inspection framework placed a greater emphasis on this. So we saw this as an opportunity to ensure that all our child welfare & protection policies and procedures meet or exceed the legal minimum.”

Hayes is also right to point out that Jeremy Oppenheim, an authoritative player in the UK Border Agency (UKBA), has stated his intention to bring all student visitor visas within Tier 4 in the future. In Hayes’ view, he is doing nothing less than ‘future proofing’ his business. But he asks, with the previous system unbroken, why the need for a fix? [more>>]