Page 6 - StudyTravel Magazine May/June 2022 Issue

WorldWide

Sector eyes recovery as more destinations MeI to end tuition protection
relax entry rules scheme, unveils new policy
lAnguAge secondAry tertiAry AssociAted lAnguAge tertiAry
everal study travel destinations have relaxed entry measures LT association Marketing English in Ireland
or even lifted all restrictions in recent weeks. (MEI) https://mei.ie has announced an end
SIreland was the first major study destination to completely Eto its bonding scheme to protect learners,
remove all Covid-19 entry requirements for all arrivals in early with a new paid insurance scheme to be offered.
March, regardless of where passengers were flying from or vac- MEI has operated a bonding scheme since
cination status. bit.ly/3uID24U The UK followed suit, lifting all 2012. Protection arrangements are a require-
testing and paperwork requirements for all passengers, regardless ment for programmes to be included on the ILEP
of vaccination status from March 18. bit.ly/3iZ9Cdj register of recognised courses for long-term,
Canada retained its entry ban on unvaccinated passengers non-EU students.
(under 18 international students are exempt), but dropped pre- MEI has created an exclusive, paid insurance
arrival testing rules for vaccinated passengers. bit.ly/3NMh2P6 scheme for members through Study & Protect,
The government of the Philippines fully reopened for vaccinated and it will be the responsibility of each school to
tourists from April 1, with passengers no longer needing special implement the Study & Protect PEL (Protection
permission to enter. Eric Altman, a representative of English Philip- of Enrolled Learners), or a similar product.
pines https://english-philippines.org, said the ELT sector was MEI said, “We encourage agents to check
hopeful, but would take some time to replicate the pre-pandemic in with their partner schools to find out their
growth it was experiencing. He also welcomed an increase in particular arrangements for implementation as
flights and said agent interest in key markets such as Japan it will vary from school to school.”
remained strong. bit.ly/3NGzc4V The policy arranged with Study & Protect will
South Korea ended quarantine periods for fully vaccinated initially cover ILEP students on courses of 25
passengers from April 1. bit.ly/3J1t17R. And New Zealand brought weeks or longer.
forward the planned entry date for vaccinated tourists from visa- MEI’s existing scheme covers all enrolled
waiver countries to May 1. bit.ly/37a0tfa students, regardless of course length. The
However, in Malta fully vaccinated passengers from ‘dark red’ association told ST Magazine that there will be
countries still needed forthcoming products to cover short-term and
special permission to young learner students.
enter at the time of writ- In a statement, MEI said the bonding scheme
ing. ELT association FEL- had successfully placed students, but that it
TOM http://feltom.com “was a fraught and sometimes delayed process
urged the government to which gave rise to several concerns surrounding
relax rules and said that the viability of the scheme”.
Malta needed to build The current bonding scheme will continue for
confidence with agents all currently enrolled students and all students
worldwide. Read more: who start courses up to July 4 2022. Read more
bit.ly/3u0rpHs at: bit.ly/3wVYt5d

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