Sunfish
2nd Dec 2010, 20:04
Final report is out regarding the 2007 Mid Air at YLTV.
Now you know why I leave the circuit when it gets "crowded" sometimes.
The entire "Foreign student" business is a rip off and a sick joke.
Having had the opportunity to observe secondary and some tertiary foreign students at length over the past Five years (but not aviation students) I make the following observations.
1. All foreign students are supposed to acquire the "Cambridge Level Two' standard of English before attending a secondary or Tertiary educational institution in Australia. This is a sham. Students frequently present with little knowledge of spoken, let alone written, English, with a certificate either purchased overseas or from one of the rotten, sick "Australian" institutions like "******" a simple walk down Latrobe street Melbourne will reveal dozens of these shonky places.
The worst I've seen was a Twenty Four year old national of a certain country who could speak English quite well, allegedly had an engineering degree (most probably purchased), and was enrolled in a master of business program with a certain well known University. His level of reading and writing comprehension was less than that of a year Ten student. We had his visa cancelled and had him sent home, at least the University was good enough to refund his tuition money.
Then there was the one who could barely speak, let alone write, English. She wanted to become a rock music journalist in New York after she had completed an Arts degree which was totally beyond her. Her rich mother explained that she wanted her to "follow her dream'.
2. About one third are genuine students who want to get their education and depart.
3. Another Third are immigrating by stealth, using the loophole that allows graduates permanent resident status if they get a job here after graduating with God knows what bogus degree.
4. Then there are the "problematic ones". They include the "out of sight, out of mind" brigade, where Daddy has remarried. Then there are the misfits who have psychiatric or "behavioural" issues such as being "gender insecure" - behaviours that would relegate them to the scrap heap in their own country. Finally this group also includes drug addicts and aggressive, criminal, rebellious kids whose behaviour in their home country would be grounds for a bullet behind the ear.
...and we get them dumped on us.
I believe visa requirements have now been toughened, locking the stable door after the horse has bolted, but the reality is that this mess has been swept under the carpet.
There also needs to be a written and oral test for all foreign students, administered by an Australian public servant, under conditions where cheating and bribery is impossible.
Investigation: AO-2007-065 - Midair collision - Cessna 172 VH-EUI & Avid Flyer 28-0929, Latrobe Valley Aerodrome, Vic, 1 December 2007 (http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2007/aair/ao-2007-065.aspx)
Now you know why I leave the circuit when it gets "crowded" sometimes.
The entire "Foreign student" business is a rip off and a sick joke.
Having had the opportunity to observe secondary and some tertiary foreign students at length over the past Five years (but not aviation students) I make the following observations.
1. All foreign students are supposed to acquire the "Cambridge Level Two' standard of English before attending a secondary or Tertiary educational institution in Australia. This is a sham. Students frequently present with little knowledge of spoken, let alone written, English, with a certificate either purchased overseas or from one of the rotten, sick "Australian" institutions like "******" a simple walk down Latrobe street Melbourne will reveal dozens of these shonky places.
The worst I've seen was a Twenty Four year old national of a certain country who could speak English quite well, allegedly had an engineering degree (most probably purchased), and was enrolled in a master of business program with a certain well known University. His level of reading and writing comprehension was less than that of a year Ten student. We had his visa cancelled and had him sent home, at least the University was good enough to refund his tuition money.
Then there was the one who could barely speak, let alone write, English. She wanted to become a rock music journalist in New York after she had completed an Arts degree which was totally beyond her. Her rich mother explained that she wanted her to "follow her dream'.
2. About one third are genuine students who want to get their education and depart.
3. Another Third are immigrating by stealth, using the loophole that allows graduates permanent resident status if they get a job here after graduating with God knows what bogus degree.
4. Then there are the "problematic ones". They include the "out of sight, out of mind" brigade, where Daddy has remarried. Then there are the misfits who have psychiatric or "behavioural" issues such as being "gender insecure" - behaviours that would relegate them to the scrap heap in their own country. Finally this group also includes drug addicts and aggressive, criminal, rebellious kids whose behaviour in their home country would be grounds for a bullet behind the ear.
...and we get them dumped on us.
I believe visa requirements have now been toughened, locking the stable door after the horse has bolted, but the reality is that this mess has been swept under the carpet.
There also needs to be a written and oral test for all foreign students, administered by an Australian public servant, under conditions where cheating and bribery is impossible.
Investigation: AO-2007-065 - Midair collision - Cessna 172 VH-EUI & Avid Flyer 28-0929, Latrobe Valley Aerodrome, Vic, 1 December 2007 (http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2007/aair/ao-2007-065.aspx)