The membership body is consulting providers, agents, students and other stakeholders on what protection students should receive when an accredited English language teaching provider closes unexpectedly, with a view to agreeing an implementation route and timetable before the end of 2026.
“Recent closures have sent shockwaves across international education,” said English UK chief executive Jodie Gray.
“They have brought uncertainty and distress for students and families and put considerable pressure on agents, English language teaching centres, accommodation providers and partners.”
Recent large-scale closures have included EC and BSC and have highlighted limitations in English UK’s existing Student Emergency Support (SES) scheme.
The scheme helps displaced students continue their studies by finding places at other accredited centres, but does not cover prepaid accommodation or other elements of a student’s package.
It also depends on receiving schools providing replacement tuition without payment – something that becomes increasingly difficult to sustain when large numbers of students are affected.
“Our sector has shown extraordinary commitment in supporting students in immediate need,” said Gray.
“But goodwill alone is not a sustainable system of protection. We now need to bring the sector together and listen carefully to those affected.”
The first stage of the review will focus not on choosing a financial mechanism, but on establishing what students should reasonably be able to expect if their provider closes.
First, we need to agree what students should be able to expect when a provider closes… then we need to find the fairest, most affordable and most reliable way of delivering that promise.
Jodie Gray, English UK
“First, we need to agree what students should be able to expect when a provider closes,” said Gray. “Then we need to find the fairest, most affordable and most reliable way of delivering that promise.”
Among the principles being put to consultation is whether students should be protected for tuition they have paid for but not received, and whether that protection should apply both before departure and after their course has begun.
The consultation will also consider whether students should receive the same protection regardless of whether they book directly with a provider or through an education agent, as well as what level of protection should apply to prepaid accommodation.
Stakeholders will be asked whether other prepaid parts of a study package – such as provider-arranged transport, activities, examination fees and course materials – should also be covered.
Another question will be whether providers accepting displaced students should receive funding for the replacement tuition they deliver, rather than being expected to absorb the cost themselves.
The consultation will also test whether student protection should be compulsory for accredited providers.
No final model has yet been selected, with English UK stressing that the sector must first reach agreement on the principles underpinning any future system.
Once those principles have been established, a representative task force will consider how they could be delivered in a way that is affordable and financially sustainable.
Potential approaches include insurance, sector funds or levies, escrow, guarantees, payment protection and combinations of different mechanisms. Technical work will begin alongside the consultation to assess the feasibility of the options.
The task force will include representatives of providers, agents and student interests, alongside expertise in accreditation, insurance, finance, law and consumer protection.
English UK said it will supplement responses to the online consultation with stakeholder roundtables and other targeted engagement before the task force makes its recommendations to the organisation’s Board of Trustees.
Gray stressed that the organisation intends to move quickly from consultation to a decision.
“This cannot become an open-ended discussion,” she said.
“We will consult widely, test the options rigorously and move quickly towards a clear decision. English UK has a responsibility to lead, and that is what we intend to do.”
The organisation will also explore whether common student protection principles could be established across major international study destinations, while recognising that the mechanisms used to provide those protections may differ between countries.
Further details of the English UK Student Protection Review, including its consultation questionnaire and arrangements for submitting responses, are set to be published as the review gets underway.
