Latest international education news

Education agencies approved under the AIRC accreditation system may no longer be able to take commission on any form of financial aid, or even substantially change their business operational procedure without AIRC approval, under revisions to the scheme being voted upon currently.

Oxford Royale Academy was named best educational product in last week's British Youth Travel Awards, beating Ardmore Language Schools and Bell's "Winter Explorer"...

Languages Canada and Scotiabank this week announced a sponsorship agreement that will offer banking advice to more than 130,000 international language education students studying in Canada each year...

A new online funds verification service has launched in beta-mode in the USA. It could revolutionise the way universities and governments verify the financial standing of international students, side-stepping the need for paper copies of bank documents, speeding up the recruitment process and reducing visa fraud.

BridgeBrazil, a leading supplier of Portugese language courses to foreigners in Brazil, has been awarded a valuable accreditation by the government-backed Study in Brazil programme. According to the company, this means a trusted, quality operator.

Fifty education delegates from British Columbia joined the province’s largest ever trade mission to India and China last month, in an ongoing drive to attract international students. The University of British Columbia also announced the opening of two offices in India which will enable it to build ties with country’s private and public sectors.

A charity has been launched to support the countries from which the UK recruits most international students – a move that could give the country an edge as an "ethical" study destination. It plans to raise funds from UK HE stakeholders to support the development of primary and secondary education in countries such as China, India and Nigeria.

UK science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) courses are increasingly being taken by international students likely to return home after graduation. This is prompting fears of a future skills shortage in the UK, especially with post-study work rights for international students now severely limited.

The number of Chinese students studying in Spain has increased elevenfold since 2003, from 500 to more than 5,500 this year, according to figures provided China’s embassy in Spain, while Mandarin study is also growing among Spaniards as bilateral ties pay off.

Cambridge ESOL has launched a new, interactive web-based service to help students prepare for the speaking part of the Cambridge English: First exam, featuring real-life examiners.

"Ninety per cent of those who said we should continue to ban [per-head commission payments] internationally cited concern for students. For those who said we should not ban it, ninety per cent talked about it from a business model. So it’s definitely a bi-modal view."

The Italian-owned chain, Professional Linguistic Upper Studies (PLUS), is breaking out of the junior market with ambitious new expansion plans: it is launching an academic pathway...

To protest against the excessive delays faced by Saudi Arabians traveling to Canada, Saudi embassies are deliberately prolonging processing times for Canadians travelling the other way. Agents in South America back up claims that Canada is slow-going as regards visa issuance.

In northern Iraq, a new scholarship system is being set up that could prove a lucrative student supply route. The organiser of a recent UK Education Tour to Erbil and Istanbul claims there are significant opportunities for British institutions to get involved, while Turkey remains a strong market.