Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2009
640 Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Science the steps taken to date to regulate the foreign student education sector here as provided for in the now withdrawn Education Ireland Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4847/09]
View answerMy Department operates an Internationalisation Register which sets out programmes approved for the purpose of access to work by students who are citizens from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland. Under the immigration regime, such students will only be given access to work if they are attending full time programmes on the Register. The criteria for inclusion require that the programme be full-time, at least 15 hours per week for a minimum of 25 weeks, and lead to a nationally recognised award, or its international equivalent. Language programmes which meet the duration criteria and are approved under the ACELS quality assurance and inspection scheme are also eligible for inclusion on the Register, provided they offer assessment for students at the end of the programme using recognised language proficiency test instruments.
The criteria for inclusion are included in an Information Note, along with the Internationalisation Register, on the Department's website at www.education.ie. The register is updated on a monthly basis.
The English language sector is currently regulated on a voluntary basis by the Advisory Council for English Language Schools (ACELS), a company limited by guarantee which operates under the aegis of my Department. It provides a voluntary quality assurance and inspection scheme for private sector English language schools. ACELS also approves teacher training qualifications for the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) private sector, and has developed English language proficiency test instruments. Schools which comply with the ACELS quality assurance and inspection scheme are approved by my Department for the purpose of providing English language programmes in the private sector. The conditions for recognition of schools are available on the body's website at www.acels.ie.
It is my intention that the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI) will take on overall responsibility for the regulation of the international education sector. My Department will hold discussions with the NQAI about taking on these responsibilities in the context of the planned amalgamation of the NQAI, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) and the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC).
