Mr. Brian Hearne:

It is important to note that ICOS focuses on adult and adolescent education. MEI just referenced junior international students, but we do not have many dealings with minors who come here to study.

Regarding unfair or harsh expulsions, these could come down to miscommunications between students and their schools or to issues that could have been addressed earlier by the schools but were not. There can be harsh interpretations of the ILEP. Something we have noticed is that certain providers use the ILEP as a means of implementing harsh rules and regulations, allowing them to expel students early in their courses and free up space. We hope that the IEM will cut out that sort of behaviour.

We are happy to hear that MEI wants regulations or inspections to be put in place. As to who will carry out those inspections, we would like to see QQI taking the lead. If not QQI, it needs to be an independent body. Either way, there needs to be consistency, as the IEM refers to schools having a third-party mediator in cases where issues that cannot otherwise be resolved arise between them and students. However, no details are given as to who that mediator would be. Given that there are many English language schools in Ireland, a consistent and fair approach should be applied via a specific independent ombudsman who would oversee complaints.