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Guide to party election policies

What should the UK’s approach to immigration be? Some believe that it boosts the economy and has made UK into a truly multicultural country. But others say that the arrival of large numbers in recent years has put a strain on hospitals, schools and transport in some places and created a fragmented society.


A Free Tool Kit with Smart Menus …Click here to view/analyse

Universities UK has signalled unhappiness with the government over “poor quality” student visa rules by advising institutions not to apply to become a “highly trusted sponsor” and by venting its criticisms in Parliament.

Higher education institutions have a deadline of 30 June to apply for the sponsor scheme, which is part of a tightening of student immigration rules ordered by the prime minister to crack down on abuse by economic migrants.

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) said highly trusted sponsor status would ease the bureaucratic burden on universities while preventing abuses of the immigration system.

But others fear that universities’ international reputations and recruitment will be damaged if they fall short of exacting requirements and fail to qualify for the annually renewed status.

Sponsors must ensure that no more than 3 per cent of international students fail to complete their courses, and university staff will have to mount in-depth background checks on prospective students – detailed in a 21-page UKBA document.

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The number of children being taught in independent schools in the UK has fallen, annual figures show.

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) census showed 511,886 pupils were being privately educated, compared with 514,531 last year – a fall of 0.6%.

Considering the economic downturn, the figures were described by the private schools body as a “positive message”.
The average private school fee per term was £4,186, excluding nursery fees. The census was completed by 1,260 schools.

The average boarding school fee per term was £8,003 and the average day fee was £3,571 per term.

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Recession-hit private schools rescued by overseas pupils

One in three boarders is now from abroad, figures show
By Richard Garner, Education Editor

A record influx of overseas pupils has cushioned the effects of the recession for Britain’s independent schools.

Figures out today show a 7.4 per cent rise in the number of overseas pupils – bringing the total to an all-time high of 23,307. However, the overall number of independent school pupils has fallen by nearly 3,000 as a result of the recession.

There are two reasons for the rise in overseas pupils:
some schools have devoted more energy to recruiting overseas, fearing difficulties in the home market, and European families have been attracted by private schools offering the International Baccalaureate alongside A-levels. Wellington College, for instance, has seen a 20 per cent increase in overseas applications – most notably from Germany – since it began offering the IB, which gives pupils a broader range of sixth-form studies than A-levels.
The largest international group within private schools are Chinese and Hong Kong students.

The rise means that one in three boarding pupils in the UK is now from an overseas background.
Case Study: ‘Our students have a global outlook’ (by Rossall School, Fleetwood, Lancashire)

Further Reference: Independent Schools Council

Todays ISC Census Analysis by Telegraph is Politically Pitched/may be biased hence I am not posting it here -Analyzer

Conservative plans to allow schools to break free of local council control have been publicly endorsed by some of the leading state head teachers in England

By Graeme Paton, Education Editor

In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, 31 heads and governors back a Conservative pledge to give high-performing state schools autonomy within months of a general election victory.

They will be allowed to convert into semi-independent academies as early as September this year if the Tories win, giving them more power over the curriculum, qualifications, staff, budgets and admissions.

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Over the same time, further education college teachers’ pay rose by almost half as much or 23.4%, the University and College Union says.
Coming as hundreds of college staff face redundancy, the figures expose the sector to ridicule, the union claims.
The Association of Colleges says pay rates reflect the need for colleges to recruit the best

Between 2001-2 and 2008-9, the mean average pay of further education college principals increased from £76,506 to £119,482 or 56%, according to figures from the Learning and Skills Council which used to fund colleges.
‘Huge pressure’
Over the same period, teachers’ pay rose from £27,615 to £34,090, a rise of 23.4%.
In the last year, 2008-9, college heads had average pay rises of 7.1%. This compared with a 1% pay rise for teaching staff, according to the figures.
UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said she was not against people being properly rewarded for working hard.
“However, we believe colleges need to be up-front about why principals are enjoying such bumper pay rises compared to teaching staff.
“At a time when the public sector is facing huge pressure to show restraint these large rises in principals’ pay are embarrassing the further education sector.”
Complex organisations’

Employment director at the Association of Colleges (AoC) Evan Williams said: “There have been longstanding question marks over the principals’ pay element of the LSC College Accounts – which UCU are using as the basis for this analysis.
“Where one principal replaces another in-year the pay of two individuals is sometimes counted as one; data from one year has been attributed to that of another.”
He added: “Notwithstanding data issues, college principals are paid less than vice-chancellors at universities with equivalent student numbers, for example, or the heads of private sector organisations with equivalent turnover.
“It is also important that colleges, which are complex, multi-million pound organisations, are professionally run – pay growth may well match growths in student numbers and income.”
Recent reports suggest many colleges are facing sizeable budget cuts. A survey of 147 colleges by the AoC found 62 faced a cut of more than 20%.
The figures also come not long after public sector union Unison called for a legally enforceable cap to be placed on principals’ pay.


BBC

More than 40,000 extra foreign students were allowed into the UK from just seven countries last year casting new doubt on the effectiveness of the Government’s “tough” new visa system.