UK cuts down the number of trusted English Language Assessment Providers

There is drastic cut down in the number of trusted English language testers to ensure more security and reliability to the system.

As part of recent changes in tightening of immigration policies, the UK is ensuring the important part of evaluation criteria that is testing the English Language Proficiency among its applicants is entrusted to the only some of the English Language Assessment providers only.

This list is already applicable to the students under Tier 4 and the new list will come into being from the July of this year, for the applicants for work visa covered as highly skilled Tier 1, Tier 2 for the partners who are aspirant to join their partners who are already staying in UK.

Hence all the categories of applicants will be covered under the new list and therefore will take care of the scores in 26 tests and give the range of proficiency of language required under different categories.

The authorities have considerably decreased the number English Language testers by as much of 50 per cent as compared to more than 12 providers since this language test was commenced with four years ago as a part of point based visa system.

The providers selected by the authorities were on the basis that test provider should be available in minimum of 40 countries and it should be taken up by at least 2,400 aspirants every year. The authorities also wanted to ensure the providers have test validity, frequency of their updates for the test items and their anti fraud and anti cheating measures.

During the previous month UK Border Agency (UKBA) and controlling with visa process, revised the list of such providers that will assess the applicants coming to the country.

UKBA uses the language levels that are defined by the Common European Framework of References scales. For the Tier 2 applicants they have to achieve scores at the beginner level that is A1 mostly speaking and listening whereas the students have to attain an intermediate B2 score to be eligible.

The deleted assessment providers include the Academy of Oriental Cuisine in Leeds, and the College of Excellence, north-west London.

According to the Daniel Guhr, a US based educational consultant feels that this decrease in the list of providers would lower the number of students by more than it is expected, among those coming for the higher studies to the country.

As according to a forecasting model Illuminate Consulting Group developed by him supports his calculation about cutting down of the number of students coming to the country.