Student Visas - Home Affairs Committee Contents


Written evidence submitted by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (SV19)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.  University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL) recommends that in looking at the impact of the proposed restrictions on Tier 4 migration, the Select Committee also needs to question the actual quality of the assessment instruments used to regulate the scheme. This applies particularly to the proposals in the current Home Office consultation to introduce tougher entry criteria for students. We believe it is possible to have a secure student immigration system if it is based on a qualifications system which to ensures security, fairness, reliability, and where the tests are fit for purpose. By ensuring that the system abides by such criteria, it is possible to achieve a robust and rigorous system, without taking further measures which are likely to have a detrimental impact on the UK education industry.

RESPONSE

2.  Cambridge ESOL is one of the three examination boards which make up Cambridge Assessment, the University of Cambridge's International Examinations Group. Cambridge ESOL examinations are the world's leading qualifications for learners and teachers of English. Each year over 3 million people in 135 countries take our examinations. More than 11,500 of universities, employers and governments rely on Cambridge ESOL certificates as proof of English language ability. In the UK, we have more than 350 examination centres, with over 300,000 candidates a year. We produce and deliver high-quality, flexible and secure English language assessments for high and low level speakers, geared to the requirements of the Points Based System.

3.  Our experience includes working closely with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) in Australia. Cambridge ESOL examinations and IELTS (the International English Language Testing System) are designed to meet these requirements. The case for a constructive, supportive yet well regulated student visa system is well demonstrated in the success which Australia has achieved, retaining a well recognised control of its borders while still benefiting from 18% growth in English language student numbers in 2007-08.

4.  We support the view that overseas students are vitally important to language schools, colleges and universities in the UK. As well as the financial contribution they make, they bring cultural diversity and a wealth of different experiences that enrich education in this country. Their experiences here enhance our reputation worldwide and many of them go on to leading roles in business, education or government, taking with them a positive view of the UK.

5.  Cambridge ESOL is committed to making a positive contribution to a fair, effective system for managing student migration so that bona fide students are able to gain visas while bogus applicants are excluded. We fully support the idea of a Tier 4 which is rigorously monitored and controlled and prevents people coming to live and work in the UK by pretending to be students, but which does not discriminate against legitimate students and allows the UK to benefit from the global industry in international education.

6.  Whilst we welcome the Committee's inquiry into the impact of the Government's proposed restrictions on Tier 4 migration, we would suggest that before looking at the impact, the Select Committee also needs to ask the Government about the actual quality of the restrictions themselves. This applies particularly to the proposals in the current Home Office consultation to introduce tougher entry criteria for students.

7.  We believe it is possible to have a secure student immigration system if it is based on a qualifications system which is designed to ensure security, fairness, reliability, and where the tests are fit for purpose. By ensuring that the system abides by such criteria, it is possible to achieve a robust and rigorous system for monitoring immigrants on student visas, without taking measures which are likely to have a detrimental impact on an industry which contributes considerable value to the UK economy.

8.  These potentially detrimental measures include current proposals to raise the minimum level of qualification that can be studied under Tier 4, and to place limits on the progression of students on courses up the qualifications scale without returning to their home countries. We question whether either will tighten up the Tier 4 route. For example, in the latter case, if students admitted initially have already been processed through a secure route, the measure will not tighten up the route in terms of preventing the entry of bogus students, but would have a negative impact on the UK education industry.

9.  Current proposals also introduce tougher entry criteria for students, requiring that all Tier 4 students should be competent at B2 standard of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR). However, focusing on the level of qualification that students entering through the Tier 4 route need to hold will not necessarily bring about the introduction of a fair and effective system. In fact, the important question is not so much the level at which the qualification required for entry should be set, but more the criteria introduced to ensure that students are sitting the right, secure tests. With the right, secure test students at different levels could enter the UK with identity, country of origin and school attendance securely recorded. It is vital that in order to introduce a secure system which is also fair to legitimate students, the Home Office ensures only tried and tested qualifications with high levels of security and quality control are recognised for this purpose.

10.  We outline below the criteria which we think any proposals on language testing for entry into the UK need to include:

  • Security: Any test recognised for immigration purposes needs to be delivered through a secure network of examination centres, subject to extensive quality control procedures and backed by proven systems to detect and manage malpractice. A robust system must be in place to confirm candidates' identities and to allow immigration authorities to verify the results quickly and easily. We are well known for the rigorous supervision of our centres, and we have already provided advice to the UKBA on the potential for breaches of exam security.
  • Reliability: Tests must be demonstrably reliable and backed by evidence that they accurately assess language skills at the appropriate level and are consistent over time, regardless of where and when they are taken. Cambridge ESOL's uniquely rigorous approach to the quality, validity and reliability of its exams is publicly documented in the publication Principles of Good Practice: quality management and validation in language assessment.
  • Fairness: A fair test is one in which the ability being tested is the primary focus and where all irrelevant barriers to candidate performance have been removed. So, for example, in terms of test delivery, as students will be required to demonstrate their skills before they arrive in the UK, tests must be available worldwide and throughout the year.
  • Fitness for purpose: Tests need to be based on communication skills, rather than abstract knowledge of language, to ensure that the skills they cover are relevant to the contexts in which the student will need to use them. Applicants need access to a range of qualifications so that they are able to select one that closely matches their own needs and that of the institutions where they will be studying or working.

January 2011



 
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