Travel restrictions put 8,000 jobs at risk in English language schools

“You can get tattoed from head to toe, you can be among 50,000 people in Croke Park, but you can't be an overseas student attending an English language class,”  says leading educator

English Language Education (ELE) schools in Ireland risk losing up to 8,000 jobs due to Covid restrictions on bringing in overseas students, warns Marketing English in Ireland (MEI), representative group for the sector. Picture: iStock

English language teaching schools urgently need clarity around the recruitment of new students or risk putting up to 8,000 teaching jobs at risk.

David O'Grady, CEO of Marketing English in Ireland (MEI), says he has no answers for the global agents looking to book overseas students into the Irish-based schools he represents. Under current Covid guidelines, these private schools can reopen but they cannot enroll new students.

“We have been allowed to reopen for face-to-face classes with the existing students that we have already been teaching online, but we can't welcome new students from overseas,” said David O'Grady. “Agents and groups keep calling, asking me when are we restarting. They don't get why a tourist can come to Ireland, but they can't confirm a booking for an overseas student.

“There can be a time lag of three to five months between us being out in the market and recruiting new students. We'd be happy with a phased reopening plan. We just need more clarity in the Taoiseach's next statement on August 31st. The sector supports thousands of jobs.” 

David O'Grady, CEO of Marketing English in Ireland (MEI).

 Overall, the ELE (English Language Education) sector supports around 8,000 jobs. MEI is the largest association of ELE schools in Ireland, representing over 70 member schools, currently blocked from bringing in a projected 674 students per month over the remainder of 2021.  

These are among the tens of thousands of international students who are blocked from studying in Ireland’s universities.

David O'Grady says the ELE sector has been abandoned by the Government, with no roadmap for reopening. His language schools are being prohibited from recruiting students to class groups of on average seven students (maximum 15).

He contrasts this with English language programmes in universities set to host full capacity lectures (up to 500 students in an auditorium) from September, while the ELE sector has been given no reopening date to work towards.

“Without evidence or data to back it up, language students have been singled out as somehow being a greater risk than university students, or tourists,” says Mr O'Grady. “The Government has restricted international recruitment and blocked the processing of visas for English language students, a practice which MEI believes is discriminatory and without any basis.

“We are not convinced that any EU citizen can be stopped coming to do courses here. Once they've gone through airport checks, they are legitimately here.

“You can get tattoed from head to toe, you can be among 50,000 people attending a GAA match in Croke Park, but you can't be an overseas student attending a class in an ELE school that is following all of the HSE's strict Covid guidelines.”

Mr O'Grady says that ELE providers have been in survival mode for almost 17 months. These schools have lost up to 95% of their income in 2020 and 2021 so far, schools like ISI Dublin.

Brian Burns, of ISI Dublin, said: “We have spent months working through hundreds of protocols and policies so that we can bring students back into our school.

“We invested thousands to get our building ready for our reopening in September. It is heartbreaking and deeply frustrating to see tourists and university students arrive into the country while we are being told to remain shut to new students.” 

Tour operators, host families and accommodation providers are also impacted by the ongoing uncertainty for the ELE sector.

Beata Kostkowska, of Dublin-based coach hire firm Dualway Group, said: “International students help to support jobs in our company and in our industry. They provide a vital revenue stream for our business when the school transport side of our fleet would ordinarily be off the road.” 

MEI's member schools have implemented Department of Further and Higher Education protocols covering all aspects of a student's stay in Ireland and their time in the school. The schools have worked through the advisory notes, checklists, protocols and adaptation frameworks.

The schools have spent thousands of euro adapting their buildings to be compliant with the ELE sector’s covid-19 safety measures. However, because of the ban on international recruitment, schools across the country are sitting almost empty.

David O'Grady says that if government restrictions continue to hamper the resumption of international recruitment and the reopening of the ELE sector, many schools will collapse and the jobs the sector creates and supports are at risk of being permanently lost.

“Prior to the pandemic, Ireland had the highest number of international language students per capita, punching far above its weight internationally,” said David O'Grady. “With continued support and a clear timeline, there is no doubt that ELE in Ireland can successfully build back better, rebound, and reclaim Ireland's place as a world leader in English language education.”