Bernardo’s chief: in the best interests of the children

An article from Tuesday, 11^th September in the UK Guardian described the efforts of Anne Marie Carrie, the chief of Barnardo’s. It is an accommodation centre for families who have been refused asylum and are waiting to be deported back to their home countries. She says that her organization comes under fire often, from anti child detention organizations, but she claims that keeping the children with their families, even if it is in a detention centre, is far better than the alternative, which is to split up the families as they wait and send the children to foster homes to await deportation.

She also acts as a crucial voice for these families, as their rights are commonly ignored. She is unafraid to call the necessary authorities to ensure that the rights of the families are looked after, even though the State has denied them official protection. “If not us, then who?” she commonly asks.

Barnardo’s is a service at Cedars, the “pre-departure accommodation centre” that provides accommodation for failed asylum seekers. At the onset, Barnardo’s established a set of “red lines” that could not be crossed regarding the rights of refugees. Once crossed, Carrie took action. She raises concerns every time she believes the rights of refugees have been breached, and her voice is a valuable one to these vulnerable families.

Brophy Solicitors

12.09.12

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/sep/11/barnardos-chief-social-care-asylum-seekers

UK Guardian: EU Students say permit delays are putting degrees at risk

An article in the UK Guardian reports how delays for work permits are damaging the employment opportunities for Romanian students. One student, Emilia Gheorghe, described how, as a second-year university student, she should be beginning work at a summer school, trying to boost her CV and help her obtain post-graduate employment. Instead, she is forced to wait for the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to process her application for a work permit. She submitted her application over eighteen months ago, and she still has not heard a decision. This delay has forced her into limbo, without permission to work, and she is missing valuable opportunities as a result.

The situation that Gheorghe is in is not unique. At least a few dozen other Romanian students studying in the UK have experienced extraordinary delays in the processing of their visa applications. Without the visa, students are not able to work part-time jobs to support themselves, and obtain jobs in their field to gain experience that could be crucial when it comes to starting a career. Various complaints have been lodged by the students to the UKBA, and a formal petition was filed, stating, “If the United Kingdom . . . would like to continue setting a high educational standard and attracting the best and brightest from across the glob, the UKBA needs to guarantee that it will process visa applications in a timely, transparent, and effective manner.”

When Romania and Bulgaria were accepted into the EU in 2007, there was an initial gradual transition period, where they were not allowed to work. However, after a few years, students obtained permission to work f they could provide a registration certificate confirming that they are students. The UKBA has promised to process these applications quickly, but students are experiencing a significant delay.

Ireland has recently lifted all restrictions on Romanian and Bulgarian workers, meaning that they now have total access to the labor market, but the UKBA has issued statements saying that it intends to keep the restrictions on the labor market in place until January 1, 2014, keeping them until the end of the seven-year transition period.

Brophy Solicitors

03.08.12

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/aug/02/work-permit-delays-plague-romanian-students

Debunking the myths about international student migration

An article from the UK Guardian on 20^th July 2012 engages in a discussion about the benefits of having international students study at universities in the UK. Foreign students studying in England have been the topic of much controversy and debate, and the author of this article aims to put these arguments to rest.

He begins by debunking three common myths about foreign students. First, he says, foreign students are not taking the place of home students. They are evaluated for acceptance in completely different systems, and there is a cap on the number of UK students admitted to any university, so UK students are never competing for spots. Second, he addresses the myth that foreign students arrive in the UK, soak up knowledge, and then leave without contributing anything back. The author argues that the presence of global perspectives in a classroom is a valuable learning experience for home students. The third myth, and arguably the most common, is that international students will continue to arrive to study in the UK. There are new competitors seeking international students, namely the United States, Canada, and Australia, and the UK will have to work to make sure that international students continue to choose British universities. Already, international students only comprise 13% of the student body, and if international students feel as though their presence is unwelcome, they might seek their education in a different country. It is widely accepted that international students greatly benefit the classroom, they are an important part of the economy, and they foster beneficial relationships between countries, so the UK would benefit from making sure that international students continue to come there to study. The author concludes by saying, “We are convinced now more than ever that the international dimensions of higher education are central to the wellbeing and prosperity of the UK.”

Brophy Solicitors

23.07.12

http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/jul/20/myths-internationalisation-higher-education