ITS Educational News

A recent SCMP article highlighted the case of a Hong Kong parent who had happily spent nearly a million dollars putting her daughter through two years of school in the UK because she felt British A-levels were easier than Hong Kong ones and thus her daughter had a better chance of getting high grades and entry to HKU which treats both qualifications equally for entry purposes. In the past week two more instances have emerged querying the level of difficulty of UK public examinations.

The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual), the government body responsible for overseeing qualifications, examinations and assessments in England for a variety of levels, including GCSE and A-level, has been widely reported in the press as being unhappy with the demands of the recent raft of GCSE Science papers from all the main examination boards. Too many questions on Science papers taken in 2009 and 2010 asked for general knowledge with a scientific bent, or led candidates too far towards the answer. Ofqual has said it wants Science questions to be harder and to require students to properly demonstrate their scientific knowledge.

In a separate instance, Education secretary Michael Gove has said that he wants to return A-levels to the two year linear structure of yesteryear in response to widespread complaints that modular A-levels are “too easy”. Critics of modular A-levels say that there is too much emphasis on examination, the modules break the course up, removing any feeling of coherence, and that there is an overall lack of depth to the qualification which leaves modern students ill-prepared for university learning.

There has, however, been an immediate response against this proposal. Geoff Parks, admissions manager for the University of Cambridge, has been reported by the BBC as having written to the secretary of state pointing out the immense benefits that universities derive from the modular style, most particularly having AS results available to admissions tutors during the selection process. He says that these provide far greater insight than other available results such as GCSEs (especially pertinent given fears about those standards). Not only are they a great help in indicating bottom-line academic ability, they seem to help make the application process fairer, encouraging applications from non-traditional backgrounds and thus allowing institutions to tap into the true talent pool rather than a portion of it.

Education reform is perhaps one of the greatest areas of contention in society. It always will be as long as society needs to try and standardize the “non-standardizeable” (people). For now it seems a middle way is going to be desirable. Reducing the number of examinations to make school time more efficiently and advantageously used while still giving universities and students the best academic and intellectual indicators possible is a challenge which needs to be risen to.

By Danny Harrington

Co-founder of ITS Tutorial School

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The UK Border Agency (UKBA), the equivalent of Hong Kong’s Immigration Department, has confirmed rule changes for the English proficiency of applicants for student visas to the UK. From 12th August 2010, all applicants for a Tier 4 (General) student visa to undertake full-time study at sub-degree level (excluding English language courses) will be required to take or offer a score in one from an approved list of six English tests – TOEFL, PTE Academic, IELTS, ILEC, ICFE, or CPE. The first is run by Educational Testing Service, the second by Pearson and the other four by the University of Cambridge ESOL. The latter is perhaps the best known provider and the IELTS has probably become the most well known and most widely used over recent years, especially here in Hong Kong.

The UKBA requirement will be for students to attain level B1 under the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) whichever test they choose. For IELTS students this translates as minimum grade of 4.0 in each of the four sections. The level cannot be attained if any one section is lower than a 4.0, regardless of the overall grade. Grades are only valid for two years after the test date. The grade must be acquired before a confirmed acceptance to study is issued by the school. Without the CAS, a visa application may not be submitted. This puts the onus on students and schools to administer the requirements.

At present, with the HKDSE English not counting towards university applications, and a grey area about whether it will count towards visa applications for schools, an IELTS score would seem to be even more important. While the exact rules are being decided/clarified (for example two years of competent schooling in English may be enough), Hong Kongers considering study in the UK should really be having a very serious look at studying and sitting the IELTS examinations.

By Danny Harrington

Co-founder of ITS Tutorial School

Return to: ITS Tutorial School Home Page

A couple of interesting articles appear in The Telegraph regarding the sharp increase in recent years of children being diagnosed with SEN in the UK. The reports respond to the fact that the government is sufficiently worried to have ordered a Green Paper (an official preliminary report of government proposals to tackle an issue) on the overall state of SEN diagnosis in British schools and how SEN children are then passed through the education system.

While there are almost certainly more children which genuine SEN needs today – there are some ten million more people around than fifty years ago – added to the fact that we are better at identifying children with genuine learning difficulties such as dyslexia and autism, there is also a great worry that SEN is being used as an excuse for dealing with children who are simply badly behaved or who don’t work hard enough. There are a couple of good reasons why this might happen.

On the parental side there is the fact that we don’t like the perceived failure of producing offspring with, at best, poor social skills and, at worst, over-active, loud and even violent behaviour. All parents have a deep seated realization that their children’s behaviour reflects to a certain extent the way they have been parented, and social disapproval of a child thus stings the parents’ conscience. This is true even of those who won’t admit it, often producing a knee-jerk reaction which is symptomatic of the behavioural traits of the child. Where this becomes a real problem is when truly medical causes are passed off as the result of experiential development. Either way, our natural selfishness can get in the way of doing what is best for our children.

Then there are the more cynical possibilities for the increased numbers of SEN children. Children with SEN often get many concessions such as extra time in exams, personal tuition and even free laptops. It is possible that parents and teachers collude, both consciously and sub-consciously, to have children labeled as SEN in the belief that they may somehow be helping the child. It also gets teachers off the hook in a world driven by rigid performance targets in school curricula which can’t possibly be a good fit for one and all.

For us here in Hong Kong where there is an extreme shortage of places for children with SEN, perhaps we too should take a look at making sure that the demands put on our limited resources are from genuine cases. Then, if we still find a shortfall, we can at least speak from a position of strength when demanding extra funding for those less fortunate who need extra, or simply different, help in navigating their formative years.

Those Telegraph articles are at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7904999/Sharp-rise-in-number-of-special-needs-pupils.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/7905258/Special-needs-is-a-fad-that-harms-children.html

Read the comments as well.

By Danny Harrington

Co-founder of ITS Tutorial School

Return to: ITS Tutorial School Home Page

In my last post I commented on the potential hurdles facing graduate job-seekers in a market which seems unable to provide full employment. Of course the best graduates will always find a position, providing they are willing to be flexible enough to bend to what’s on offer – you can’t always get what you want, as an earlier generation well knows. But this rule applies to one and all. By being flexible in what you apply for and what you are willing to accept, you can get into employment much faster. What fresh graduates often fail to realize as they hold out for that dream position is that it is much easier to jump jobs than to get into one in the first place. Employers are suspicious of the unemployed. Believe me, I am one. That Guardian article goes on to report how more and more UK graduates are looking overseas as part of a more flexible approach to job-seeking.

The two biggest markets for job-seekers, especially new graduates are the EU and China, although other parts of the Far East are attractive as well. Hong Kong and Singapore have a long history of recruiting from the UK and as they are less culturally removed, make an easier stepping stone for those who may be reticent about leaving behind the familiar comforts of home. Many people have the misconception that the jobs abroad are only open to people with language degrees. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’m not proud of it, but after 15 years in Hong Kong I hardly speak a word of Cantonese and I can’t read a single character, but it has not been of any hindrance. Other places are more difficult without the language but it is never a pre-requisite. UK graduates are immensely lucky in that English is the language of international business, so they really can fit in just about anywhere.

For Hong Kong students at UK universities, regardless of ethnic background, the same rules and factors apply. The UK is a world leader in secondary and university education and you mustn’t be put off by the negativity surrounding employability. Go to the UK, get the benefit of that education and then broaden the horizon of your job search across the globe. You may find that you are in great demand.

Other than language, the barriers to entry are minimal. Yes you need work visas and you have to travel a long way, perhaps with a certain amount of baggage, but these are trivialities. The main barriers are still exactly the same as in the UK job market. Is your degree good enough? Are you applying in the right field? Do you perform well at interview? For most people, the barrier to mobility is all in their own mind. With a bit of an adventurous spirit there is no reason why a UK graduate cannot apply for a job successfully anywhere in the world and go off and thoroughly enjoy their time there. You never know, you just might stay. Like I did.

By Danny Harrington

Co-founder of ITS Tutorial School

Return to: ITS Tutorial School Home Page

The Guardian newspaper in the UK reports this week that graduate prospects in the UK are looking grim. The figures certainly make pretty scary reading. Statistics suggest that there are currently 70 applicants for every graduate entry job in the UK and that vacancies are expected to contract by nearly 7% this year. In 2009, it is reported that approximately 10% of all graduates failed to find work.

But general statistics like this fail to show the true picture. For a start there is the supply side. Some sectors are more vibrant than others and with the banking and finance industry picking up it is thought that up to 30% of vacancies in that sector have yet to be filled in 2010. On top of that, there is great variety in the nature of graduate level work, with some more attractive than others and all requiring different types of qualification. In an open society like the UK, there will simply never be a match between what courses students take and what courses employers need them to do. Besides which course choices are made 4 to 5 years ahead of an individual getting to the job market by which time it is a very different place. But clearly not every job gets 70 applicants. Then there is what employers look for. Most now focus on the degree level awarded – get a 2:1 minimum or else you’ll struggle even  to be interviewed – and the subject in which the degree was taken. Then, if they have the luxury they will look at which institution awarded it.

On the demand side, we must first ask who is in that 10%. Not all graduates are looking for work so at least some of them need not be worried about. But why do so many get degrees, look for work, but fail? Well not every degree is equal. There are a wealth of surveys which measure and compare courses and institutions. Many of those graduates failing to find work simply don’t have a very good degree. In many ways, their degree may have been a waste of time and money. It has become a modern mantra of the middle-classes (i.e. most people in Britain these days) that you must get a degree but some are frankly not worth the paper they’re written on and employers know it. And then of course, we must remember that having a degree is not some kind of passport to a job. You still have to choose which jobs to apply for, write a decent cover letter and CV, turn up to the interview dressed smartly and on time, and then impress the interviewer over and above the other applicants. It is a long, complex and arduous process and the degree only really gets you the interview. Nowhere near enough time is spent by graduates preparing for the actual job-getting part.

The solution? Choose your course carefully. Work hard at getting a good result. Apply for the right jobs and prepare for the interviews properly. There are plenty of career coaching services out there. Use them.

By Danny Harrington

Co-founder of ITS Tutorial School

Return to: ITS Tutorial School Home Page