Celtic English Academy in Cardiff has geared itself up to achieve business recovery and growth in the coming year with assistance from the Welsh government.

The school wants to build on its success by setting its sights on exports and overseas contracts, after landing four major new contracts across three continents over the last three years.

The Welsh government has bolstered its support over the years, giving the school access to the Overseas Business Development Fund – enabling representatives to go on trade missions and allowing for other key market opportunities.

The more recent support from the Welsh government in the form of their Economic Resilience Fund for digital innovation has allowed for further diversification of its services for hybrid teaching, including professional camera equipment and a suite of professional development lessons.

Recent projects include two remote teaching contacts with Kuwait and Vietnam, which are starting this year – they will see Celtic English Academy deliver online sessions with national in-country partners to support the development of English teachers in the countries.

The school now looks to expand its international presence, setting its sights on Latin America, Japan and the Middle East as “key routes” for recovery and subsequent growth.

The academy has already recruited staff in Japan and Brazil, and already exploring teaching opportunities in Saudi Arabia off the back of a “rising demand for ELT” in the region.

The president of UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) and chancellor of the University of Birmingham, says there are ways in which the United Kingdom can overtake the United States in the number of international students enrolling in the country.

In a new interview with the media, Lord Karan Bilimoria reminded that there is a “global race” for international students, and that the UK should not stop at reaching a target of 600,000 international students a decade early.

Lord Bilimoria repeated a call to introduce a new target of hosting one million international students in the UK by 2030.

He said while the UK and the US offer different experiences, they are both excellent, with the countries’ institutions often ranked top in the world.

He also added that the UK’s recently-reintroduced post-study work opportunities are a huge draw for prospective international students.

Lord Bilimoria also spoke of the transnational opportunities he sees in India, suggesting that Birmingham would “certainly be interested” in building a campus there in the future.

Others have recently formulated alternative options for the UK to head towards after hitting its recruitment target.

At a Westminster Higher Education Forum policy conference on February 8, former UK minister of State for Universities Jo Johnson spoke of ensuring sustainability rather than aiming for further immediate growth.

A panel of politicians in Canada has been told that prospective international students from French-speaking African countries are facing higher visa refusal rates than applicants from other countries.

They have been warned that these higher refusal rates are having detrimental impacts on the international student recruitment efforts in addition to potentially damaging Canada’s reputation as a welcoming place to study.

Speaking to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, the president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Bureau for International Education, Larissa Bezo, said that since 2016, more than 500,000 qualified students had visa applications rejected.

She said high refusal rates are a problem that has increased in recent years and is growing, particularly prevalent for applicants from African and Francophone Africa.

On his part, President of Universities Canada, Paul Davidson, said high visa refusal rates among priority markets, particularly in Francophone Africa, is an urgent challenge the country needs to address.

He indicated that while average approval rates for Canada’s largest international student source countries is around 80%, with some reaching 95%, students from Africa face the highest refusal rates.

Statistics from 2019 suggested that three in four applications from African students were rejected, and more recently African education agents have alleged bias over low Canadian permits approval rates.

Davidson added that a collaborate effort was needed to tackle the issue.

The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations said that fundamental changes are needed, including an increase in IRCC resources.

Chair, Christian Fotang said “International students of both official languages face many other barriers when applying for study permits, the process continues to be extremely onerous for any young adult unfamiliar with the Canadian immigration system to understand”.

Bezo noted that the country must be mindful that these failures of process do not end up being interpreted by potential international student candidates as failures of respect adding that the reputational risks for Canada brand are significant.

Refusal rates are high in some target countries despite the aim of diversifying markets in the country’s international education strategy, she highlighted, a point also emphasised by Francis Brown, director of international at Fédération des cégeps.

He said there are inconsistencies between the visa denials and other government initiatives. Québec for example invests close to $50 million promoting the province to international students and on scholarships for them.

He told the committee it is essential that the processing of study permits be equitable, fair and transparent for all individuals, regardless of their country, language or level of education.

According to immigration lawyer at LJD Law, Lou Janssen Dangzalan, the reasons for the “troubling trend” among African countries is a “mystery”.

He however, suggested that the fact that visas are not processed in-country with the majority from the region being processed in Dakar or Dar es Salaam – could have unintended consequences.

Dangzalan suggested that in-country processing could mean decision makers are more attuned to the realities on the ground.

Witnesses also said it was unclear whether Chinook is the reason for refusal rates increasing, asking for IRCC to release more data.

The problem with increased refusal rates goes beyond African applicants.

The study permit refusal rate for India increased from 34% in 2018 to 57% in 2020. Others have pointed to India, Mexico, Colombia where the number of refusals have also peaked.

A 47-year-old man, Emmanuel Apeh, was on Wednesday docked before a Badagry Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State, for allegedly defrauding five parents of N200,000 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASCCE) fees.

Apeh, whose address was not provided, is facing a two-count charge of fraud and stealing.

The prosecutor, ASP Akpan Nko, told the court that the defendant committed the offences sometime in December 2021, at Newton College, Kilometre 25, Okokomaiko, Badagry Expressway, Lagos.

Nko alleged that the defendant obtained N200,000 as registration fees from five parents under the pretext of wanting to use it to register their children for WASCCE, knowing the claim to be false.

The defendant was also accused of stealing the money by converting it to his personal use, he however pleaded not guilty to the charges and adjourned the case until Feb. 28 for mention.

The Chief Magistrate, Patrick Adekomaiya, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.

The sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction with evidence of tax payments to the Lagos State Government, he added