Industry giant Pearson has launched new exam test centres for its Pearson Test of English Academic centres (PTE Academic) in a number of key student source markets in collaboration with international schools and education agencies, in a clear move to secure a wider share of the market for English language proficiency testing.
New testing centres have opened in the last few months in India, Kenya, Nigeria, Malaysia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and China and more are planned.
In India, partnerships have been set up with key agencies Storm and The Chopras, as well as Choitram International School. Students will be able to test their level and study to attain their required level for visa issuance with agencies or at their international school.
In Malaysia, partnerships with Sheffield University and AUG agency are now in place.
“We have a strategy to rapidly expand the number of test centres that we have in key markets over the course of the next few years,” explained Dr Alaric Rae, Business Development Director at Pearson Language Testing.
“The measure of success will be the increasing popularity of PTE Academic amongst international students”
“This strategy is based on positioning PTE Academic test centres in the heart of the supply chain/pipelines of prospective international students,” Rae explained.
“The measure of success will be the increasing popularity of PTE Academic amongst international students.”
India’s demand for overseas education and the need for English language testing prior to visa issurance in key markets has fed the need for English language testing.
Dilip Vasu, Prinicipal at Choithram International School, said, “Our association with PTE Academic is going to be highly beneficial for students who want to prepare and improve their English language proficiency for clearing this international computer-based test. We feel this partnership would create great opportunities for academic success of students who want to study abroad.”
The Chopras are already experiencing a positive response to the new PTE Academic test centres and say it is being booked five days a week. “The PTE has more dates available than IELTS,“ Natasha Chopra, Chairman for The Chopras, told The PIE News.
“The PTE is also more flexible and their timing is much quicker, which is great for students in a hurry and that is a huge advantage,” she added.
“PTE Academic is becoming an increasingly popular choice with Indian students because it delivers results much faster than any other test,” confirmed Rae.
