Page 5 - StudyTravel Magazine July/August 2021 Issue

news

by Matthew Knott, News Editor
Read full news stories online...
www.studytravel.network

ElT associations count losses
from Covid-19
lAnguAge
number of English language four per cent shifted their course fully and could receive visa extensions and
school associations and govern- online in the UK. See bit.ly/3wr8dkC wage support, a trend that led to a
A ments have released member Data from Malta’s National longer average stay of 11.7 weeks.
data showing the severe impact of the Statistics Office shows that ELT The report also shows the impact
Covid-19 pandemic on enrolments. students decreased by 80.3 per cent on employment. A total of 512 teaching
English UK www.englishuk.com to 16,491 students in 2020, while staff were employed during the peak
released its member data for 2020, weeks fell by 74.8 per cent to 48,876. June-to-August period, compared
showing an 83.6 per cent decrease in Germany became the largest with 2,082 in 2019. Similarly, only 482
student numbers, an even bigger drop source market in 2020 with 2,761 stu- host families were used in the peak
than initially predicted from snapshot dents, despite a decrease of 71.7 per summer period, significantly less than
surveys during recent months. cent, while traditional top source Italy the 9,860 families used in the same
In total, English UK schools dropped to third, behind France. period of 2019. bit.ly/2RyJprW
welcomed 83,446 students in 2020 The pandemic meant that January Education South Africa (EduSA)
and delivered 530,756 student weeks was the highest month for student www.edusouthafrica.com also
(down 71.1 per cent). commencements. bit.ly/3yvCAZ0 released member data showing
“The report makes gloomy reading Member schools of Marketing that 3,257 students were welcomed
for everyone who cares about UK ELT, English in Ireland (MEI) https://mei.ie in 2020, a 67.5 per cent decrease
laying bare the devastation wreaked experienced a 72.9 per cent decrease compared with the previous year.
upon a global industry by a pandemic,” to 32,031 students in 2020, while Brazil remained the top source
said Jodie Gray, Chief Executive. student weeks dropped by 51.4 per country in 2020 with 927 students,
In 2019, junior students accounted cent to 374,229. The lower decrease in a 59.3 per cent decrease compared
for 54 per cent of enrolments at Eng- weeks may be attributable to the fact with the previous year, followed by
lish UK schools, a figure which dropped that some adult students remained Saudi Arabia, Germany, Angola and
to just 23 per cent last year. in Ireland throughout the pandemic Switzerland. More at: bit.ly/3u1d75X
Italy remained the top source mar-
ket, despite a 91.5 per cent decrease
to 11,504 students. China, Saudi
Arabia, Spain and France completed
the top five.
At private sector ELT schools, 57 per
cent of students were taught face-to-
face, while 31 per cent who originally
booked face-to-face courses studied
on blended programmes, 16 per cent
shifted fully online outside the UK, and

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