Behind the News: David O’Grady, chief executive of Marketing English in Ireland

Thousands of overseas students who came to Ireland to learn English have lost their courses and their tuition fees over the past year with the closure of 17 language schools.

The Government has announced new regulations to tackle the so-called rogue schools, many of which shut with little warning – but they will work only if they are properly policed, according to David O’Grady, chief executive of Marketing English in Ireland.

“We welcome all the regulatory proposals from the Education and Justice Ministers announced this week, but we remain skeptical that they will be implemented,” says O’Grady, whose organisation represents 54 schools.

“There has been this malign presence of schools underpricing bona-fida schools for some time. These schools were using Ireland as an employment destination behind the front of an educational destination. The Government only took action following journalistic exposés.

“We weren’t happy to see students thrown out on the streets, but we welcome the regulatory inspection scheme.”

The new rules, proposed by Minster for Education Jan O'Sullivan and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald, will come into effect on October 1st. Students will have to complete three academic years of study – 75 weeks in total – over 24 months. They will have be able to work or to take holidays for only six months of that time, not the current 18 months.

Essentially, this means that non-EU students will be given educational visas for two years instead of three. They will still be able to work for up to 20 hours a week in term and 40 hours a week outside it.

“This ability to work in Ireland for a long period was introduced during the boom years, and it gave us a competitive advantage over language schools in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada,” says O’Grady.

That freedom attracted some non-EU students to cheap, unaccredited schools, some of which cast a blind eye on nonattendance.

Another issue for the new regulations is ensuring that schools run courses accredited by Quality & Qualifications Ireland. The current scheme is voluntary. O’Grady says it needs to become mandatory to ensure that all English-language schools are accredited. Having the QQI mark is a requirement for all schools that belong to Marketing English in Ireland.

The regulations also include protection for student’s payments before and during their courses.

O’Sullivan says that the reforms will “protect genuine students, legitimate operators and Ireland’s reputation.”