New international English test to be owned by UK government

The UK Home Office is looking for candidates to co-develop an international English test specifically for immigration purposes.

The PIE News reported on September 2 that the British government appears to be planning to change the way it recognises English proficiency of visa applicants, no longer relying on the results of a number of independent organisations as before. Instead, applicants can register to take a separate international English test owned by the UK Home Office, with a completely new testing model.

Accordingly, the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) recently announced that the UK government will cooperate with the market to understand "existing products, services and innovations" in the field of English testing, from which to develop a new test. The project has an estimated budget of 1.13 billion pounds, including test development; online registration and results system; direct test centers; invigilators; identity verification services.

The Home Office is inviting interested service providers to discuss the project, with the aim of finding the best and most feasible solution to implement the new model. This will be an international English test with the Home Office brand, designed and maintained by a single provider, and will assess two or four English language abilities of candidates depending on the visa category they are applying for, the agency said.

The move comes amid a global spate of controversies in the English language testing industry. In the UK, many universities have rejected candidates’ PTE Academic Online test results after Pearson, the test’s organizer, announced the cancellation of some tests due to suspected cheating. The Australian Department of Home Affairs only accepted the TOEFL iBT back in May after more than 10 months of rejection.

Recently, educational institutions have also launched new English tests. In April, Oxford University Press launched a new English test called Oxford Test of English Advanced, while IDP - the co-owner of IELTS - launched a new AI-powered test called Envoy in early December 2023. In addition, providers are also competing fiercely by continuously launching marketing campaigns targeting each other, shortening the test duration or providing the ability to retake a skill.

According to the update on September 2 from the UK government, if you are in the UK, you can register for a Secured English Language Test (SELT) provided by Pearson, IELTS SELT Consortium, LanguageCert or Trinity College London. For foreign applicants, there are units including: Pearson, IELTS SELT Consortium, LanguageCert and Skills for English. All are recognized by the UK Home Office for use when applying for a visa.

According to data from the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency, in 2023, there were 3,240 Vietnamese studying in the UK at the post-secondary level, down more than half from the previous year (7,140) and lower than during the pandemic (3,725). In recent times, the UK has also continuously adjusted its visa policy with the goal of cutting 300,000 net immigrants each year, making the country increasingly less attractive to international students.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/du-kien-co-bai-thi-tieng-anh-quoc-te-moi-do-chinh-phu-anh-so-huu-185240903144702551.htm