Policy

Leaders of UK sector associations have called for the government to focus on existing fraud challenges in light of a recent TV documentary instead of increasing regulation for compliant schools. Accreditation UK has confirmed its remit does not include delivery of external examinations.

An eight-hour debate in the House of Lords this week revealed serious concerns over an immigration bill that would introduce a number of measures affecting international students, including an annual NHS levy for migrants and compulsory checks by landlords of tenants' legal status.

TOEFL and TOEIC exam testing in the UK has been temporarily suspended after a BBC Panorama investigation that was aired on Monday 10 Feb has revealed systemic cheating by candidates taking a TOEIC exam. Meanwhile QAA has confirmed it is opening investigations into the two colleges named in the programme and accredited by the organisation.

Speaking at The Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations of Malta's annual general meeting, the Minister for Tourism said the EFL industry potentially contributed €145 million to the national economy last year. This year FELTOM will also start a rebranding campaign to coincide with its 25th anniversary.

A rise in student visa applications in Australia signals that the international education industry could be recovering from a four-year slump leading to calls for a national education strategy. Australian Department of Immigration and Statistics data shows a 7.1% rise in year on year student visa applications from March to September 2013.

Study Brisbane is going the extra mile to welcome international students to the city, as 100 volunteer Airport Ambassadors will greet up to 15,000 foreign students arriving between now and the end of March. Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said he wants "all international students to feel at home".

Geneviève Fioraso, French Minister of Higher Education, has announced €8 million of funding for online courses to allow France to "catch up" with other countries investing in MOOC development. At present, only 3% of French universities offer online courses, compared with 80% in the US. The Ministry wants to promote the courses for job seekers and those already in work as well as for students.

Malaysia and Indonesia have signed an MoU agreement granting higher education students a two-year visa between the two countries that is renewable every two years. The changes will affect around 5,000 Malaysian students in Indonesia and 14,000 Indonesian students in Malaysia.

UK exam standards regulator, Ofqual, investigated 13 of 29 awarding organisations offering exams to Tier 4 students in England and found that nine were delivering sub-standard qualifications.

Education ministers from more than 80 countries, stakeholders and education experts have gathered in London to discuss education at policy level. Discussions centred around training skilled workforces and understanding that technology has changed the way that students expect to learn.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to provide state funding for 3,000 postgraduate students to study overseas over the next three years, provided they return to Russia to work for three years upon completion. A hefty fine will be due for students who break the terms of the scholarship.

The Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science has committed €1 million a year to stimulate the development of open education resources in higher education institutions in the Netherlands saying they are the "business cards" of Dutch universities.

US Secretary of State John Kerry will announce $1 million of Department of State funding on January 17 to bolster student exchange between universities in the US and Latin America and the Caribbean. The launch event of the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund will be live-streamed on Friday.

The Canadian government has announced a CAN$20 million International Education Strategy (IES) that will focus on key markets in order to double foreign student numbers, boost job growth and inject billions of dollars into the economy by 2022.

Taiwan aims to attract 150,000 international students by 2020 and ease regulations for inbound Chinese students President Ma Ying-jeou announced this month. He said the objective is part of an "important election campaign promise" he made six years ago to increase in and outbound mobility.