MA: Guidelines for Private Language Schools Act (Statute)

[ZuWo]

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Sponsor: ZuWo

[ZuWo]

Working as a teacher in a private language school myself, I can say it is necessary that private language schools are required to adhere to minimal quality standards so that people who take language classes at a particular place know they receive high-quality tuition. Like restaurants, for example, language schools should be required to guarantee a certain level of quality, and a license is a good way to ensure that.

This bill is based on a Swiss model. In Switzerland, there is an institution, called eduQua, which certifies language schools according to the 5 criteria mentioned in the bill. In the case of the Mideast, I am of the opinion that the licensing can be done by the Mideast Department of Education.

http://www.eduqua.ch/002alc_00_de.htm

[ZuWo]

Any opinions on this bill? Is it fine? Completely off target? Someting in between?

[Cincinnatus]

I don't belong in this region, but I thought I'd share some thoughts if no one minds

Are these schools meant to teach all subjects in one particular language?  My cousin went to a French immersion school where this happened, and I must say, her French is fantastic.     

[ZuWo]

I don't belong in this region, but I thought I'd share some thoughts if no one minds

Are these schools meant to teach all subjects in one particular language?  My cousin went to a French immersion school where this happened, and I must say, her French is fantastic.     

Thank you for your comment! The region doesn't matter if your contribution is valid.

As for this bill: I am talking about private language schools here, that is, fully private, non-public schools which offer language classes mainly to teenagers/adults who want to learn a particular language. Students who take classes in such schools usually do so on a voluntary basis, maybe because they want to learn a language such as French, German, Chinese for their holidays or professional reasons. This bill should make sure that such private language schools have a certain level of quality.

Maybe I need to specify what type of education institution this bill deals with, so thanks for your hint.

[TJ in Oregon]

I'll support this. It makes sense to require certification for this type of thing rather than just having the school run however it would like and the cost of doing so would be fairly small.

I'm not sure some of these provisions make sense to out into statute: for example E and to a lesser extent C and D are sort of worded like a mission statement rather than requirements for a private institution. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. I mean, why should we mandate that "The language school in question must strive for a customer-oriented, economically efficient and effective management"? I would think the market should be able to do that. Or is our aim to ensure the private language schools are run like Not-for-Profits? Does this assembly think they should be?

[ZuWo]

These 5 criteria are a more or less a direct translation of the existing Swiss guidelines. Of course, that's not to say points c, d and e are perfect simply because of that. I agree that points c, d and e are vague and relatively hard to grasp. But as far as I understand the intention of these guidelines, this vague phrasing gives the Department of Education some leeway to assess a particular school. Points c, d and e allow the Department of Education to, for example, take the teaching methods of a particular school into consideration. Indeed, points a and b already serve as relatively solid guidelines, but only a clause like c, d or e makes it possible for the Department of Education to judge an educational institution on the grounds of other factors (such as the quality of teaching methods). 

The vague wording of point c, d an e basically gives the Department of Education more power and responsibilities to review and assess a particular school when dealing with the question whether to hand out or withdraw a license.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Why can't language schools just be judged by customers on the basis of their reputation? If the schools don't provide results, they'll be replaced in the market by those that do.
I don't see how the Mideast government has a special competency in this area to tell language schools how to do their job.

[ZuWo]

Shua, I understand your concerns from an economically liberal point of view. Despite having introduced this bill, I am a bit torn on this issue myself. Generally I am against restrictions for businesses wherever it is possible.

However, as is the case with restaurants, which in many places on the world must be licensed in order to operate and are subject to more or less strict regulation, I believe education is one critical area which needs special care. I do not believe the ordinary mechanisms of the market should be applied to educational institutions. Education - be it in the field of language teaching or in any other field - is of such a high value that I don't think it is a smart idea to run the risk of having a great variety of really bad language schools which lower the quality of education in our region. Even if at some point these schools are replaced because they don't provide results, the damage for the students who took classes there is considerable.

The great advantage of having a license-based system for language schools is that potential students know exactly that the educational input they receive from any language school in the Mideast is of high quality.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Debate having ended, this is brought to a vote.  Members will vote AYE, NAY, or ABSTAIN.  This will be a 48-hour vote.

[ZuWo]

Aye

[Mopsus]

Aye

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

AYE

[TJ in Oregon]

Aye

[Franzl]

Aye

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Voting is now closed.  The AYEs are 5, and the NAYs are 0.  The AYEs have it and the bill is passed.  The bill is now passed on to the Governor for his signature or veto.

[afleitch]

Signed,

x Afleitch