Immigrants must possess reasonable standard of English-UK PM
by Mary Jones - February 9, 2011
United Kingdom, 9th February: Migrants must feel responsible for teaching English to their children before beginning their school, stated UK PM David Cameron.
He asserted that immigrants coming to the UK should possess what he described as a ‘reasonable standard of English’.
He reiterated that soon, the UK immigration will have new tougher UK visa rules for those wanting to the come to the UK in order to ensure that all potential immigrants do have reasonable proficiency levels in English.
Referring to the fact that nearly one out of every six children in the UK are not speaking English as their first language. Parents having good proficiency in English language are more likely to have their children succeed in the UK.
Speaking at the House of Commons, Kris Hopkins, a Yorkshire Tory MP, Cameron said that it was a sad fact majority of the children beginning their school did not speak English.
And he asked views of Mr. Cameron with regard to the obligation of the parents in the UK to ensure that their children have good grasp over spoken English.
Cameron reiterated on an immediate need to amend UK immigration rules to ensure that only those immigrants are allowed entry into the UK who have learned English language. He was making special reference to immigrants coming to the UK from Indian sub-continent.
This was necessary, stated Mr. Cameron, for the successful integration of new immigrants into the UK society and way of life. Findings of a latest MigrationWatch study reveal that only a handful of students studying in inner-city London schools speak English as their native language.
And around 40 percent of students studying in primary schools of Bradford, Birmingham and Leicester don’t have English as their first language.
Last year, the UK government had focused on granting UK spouse visas to those clearing the pre-entry English tests as a proof of their Basic English knowledge. UK immigration minister had maintained that such tests will result in a more cohesive UK society.
However, the tests had invited wide criticism saying such tests not only are a breach of human rights laws but also smack of discrimination towards migrants from non-English speaking nations.
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