The Australian IELTS fee charged to foreign students and alike in Australia is set to increase by 5% to $330.00 come August 2011. the same test costs $180 in the UK, USA, Ireland and Ukraine.
There is no justification for the rip-off with substantial profits being paid to off shore entities and Seek Learning who in partnership with Australian Universities own the IELTS testing regime in Australia.
The high costs is used to buy support and extra income for Australian Universities. Students visiting Australia deserve a better deal. They have to pay high rents, get no concession in travel or any benefits other than an Australian education and the limited possibility of securing Australian residency after they graduate.
Those students who need English testing should look into TOEFL which is now accepted as an alternative English language test assessment. But do not expect parity, TOEFL costs $200 but is still $40 more expensive to do in Australia and other counties.
2 comments:
Curtin University IELTS Test Centre to Close after Corruption Scandal
http://aiecquest.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/curtin-university-ielts-test-centre-to-close-after-corruption-scandal/
Would any Australian “self regulating” state institutions’ international education activities stand up to closer scrutiny?
I think the whole IELTS system is seriously flawed. I am hearing a lot of off the re4cord comments that the extent of corruption in the system is much higher. many report they consistently fall short of the required assessment by 0.5% forcing them to re-sit the exam and pay again. I have also heard comments about payment of $5,000 to receive a better grade. It’s not just Curtin.
I contacted the CPA the other day and expressed concern that they do not recognise TOEFL in their skills assessment. This is a close shop arrangement that the government must break. Competition in the English testing market should be mandatory., if TOEFL is good enough for DIAC then it should be accepted by the CPA and other Skills assessment authorities.
The CPA response was not informative and lacked accountability.
The lack of competition leads to corruption
I have also heard of many examples where a person has pass IELTS with a high mark 8+ yet they cannot put two sentences tighter. It seriously makes you think.
Australia needs to develop its own English Language testing system and compete in the market place.
We can no longer keep ripping off students and others, more often than not the language test is used as a means of discrimination not assessment. The CPA response I thought was appalling. If they are not prepared to reassess their criteria and adopt recognised testing system then they should be removed as an assessing authority.
Post a Comment