Significant reductions in the number of English-language students could risk undermining a fund set up to protect students in the event of language schools collapsing, ministers will be told today.
The Government has signalled that it wants to examine the numbers coming into the country on student visas in the English-language sector. There are concerns the sector could be acting as a “back door” – a term used by Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless.
Lawless will update Cabinet on the introduction of a new quality assurance mark for the higher education and English-language sector, with the first batch of assessments into English-language schools due at the end of March.
The mark, known as TrustEd Ireland, commits operators to two new codes of practice – one for higher education institutes and one for English language schools.
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Reforming the visa system governing the sector will represent a balancing act for the Government, with an estimated €3.7 billion contributed annually to the economy from overseas students in general.
Ministers will also be told that a learner protection fund, paid for by the industry to support students if an operator suddenly collapses, relies to a significant extent on contributions from English-language schools. These schools have to pay four per cent of tuition fee income to the fund.
The fund is designed to safeguard against a repetition of incidents, such as when several language schools closed suddenly in 2014, leaving many students out of pocket.
A significant dip in the numbers enrolling in such schools could represent a threat to the fund, with an underlying assumption baked into policy that the entire sector, including English-language schools, will continue to grow at a moderate level.
Nonetheless, Lawless will indicate to Cabinet that the intention is to tighten immigration and quality controls. The new codes of practice include quality assurance measures and due diligence assessments of private operators. An initial application window for the scheme has now closed, with a second window running until the end of March.
After this window, providers will not be able to recruit students from outside the EU or European Economic Area unless they obtain the TrustEd mark. A list of authorised providers is to be published, with immigration officials in the Department of Justice determining visa applications.
Providers will be required to co-operate with immigration officials in monitoring students’ compliance with immigration law, as well as sharing information with the Department of Justice.
The sector has welcomed the introduction of the new mark but criticised the cost of contributions to the fund. The new system replaces the old list of eligible programmes, which still applies but has been closed to new providers. It will be run by Quality and Qualifications Ireland.
A senior Government source said there is a belief in the Coalition that regulatory gaps exist in the English-language sector, arguing it leaves Ireland at risk of being “undermined by loopholes or unregulated activity”.
“If there are backdoors, people will try to use them,” the source added, saying the new framework was overdue and would be good for students and legitimate providers.
Twenty-eight higher education institutions have now been authorised to use the TrustEd mark.
Lawless is said to have concerns over the dependence of universities on income from overseas students, with fears an over-reliance on the fee income generated in this area could leave the universities exposed.
