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> and there is a high level of cheating. > [which] is because the problem is [...] they have English that is just not good enough to let them study in English.

by Aachen 2y ago

> and there is a high level of cheating. > [which] is because the problem is [...] they have English that is just not good enough to let them study in English. Is the cheating due to this language gap, though, or would they have cheated anyway? Evidently they have the money to travel to and live in the UK, spend tens of thousands of pounds on tuition, and pay others to do their assignments. I don't know that the group of "students" taking this approach is there for the knowledge in the first place, foreign or not That said, I'm open to the problems being different from the sudden focus on the natives' language in the Netherlands, I'm just not sure what to think when the article cites mere anecdotes (of opposing statements at that) and the argument fits great with the recent shift in voting behaviour. The article could be correct in the point it's trying to make, it's just that it's not supported or rejected by the evidence presented and both sides have ulterior motives readily available (tuition money vs. anti-foreigner rhetoric)

graemep 2y ago
> Is the cheating due to this language gap, though, or would they have cheated anyway? A bit of both, most likely. If their English is not good enough to study in then they have to cheat or fail, so they should never have been admitted. Obviously cheating needs to be stopped in general, but this group of students gives universities an incentive to turn a blind eye to it. > I'm just not sure what to think when the article cites mere anecdotes (of opposing statements at that) That is the state of journalism. Lots of BBC stories are like that. > and the argument fits great with the recent shift in voting behaviour. If you mean the shift of traditional Labour areas to Conservative and vice-versa that has been happening for a long time, its just reached the point where seats start shifting in our first past the post system in recent elections. In general Labour voters have lost working class votes, and gained more affluent voters. There have been other interesting movements such as Catholics switching from Labour to Conservative, as have ethnic minorities. If you mean the performance of Reform in the last election I think that is largely because of the deep unpopularity of the last Conservative government, and the perception that Labour are no different (which the new government seems determined to prove true). While Reform is an anti-immigrant party, I do not think most of their voters are. My experience (as ethnic minority British) is that the UK is a lot less racist than it was in the 1980s - my lifetime as seen a pretty much continual decline of racism.

by Aachen 2y ago

graemep 2y ago

> Is the cheating due to this language gap, though, or would they have cheated anyway? A bit of both, most likely. If their English is not good enough to study in then they have to cheat or fail, so they should never have been admitted. Obviously cheating needs to be stopped in general, but this group of students gives universities an incentive to turn a blind eye to it. > I'm just not sure what to think when the article cites mere anecdotes (of opposing statements at that) That is the state of journalism. Lots of BBC stories are like that. > and the argument fits great with the recent shift in voting behaviour. If you mean the shift of traditional Labour areas to Conservative and vice-versa that has been happening for a long time, its just reached the point where seats start shifting in our first past the post system in recent elections. In general Labour voters have lost working class votes, and gained more affluent voters. There have been other interesting movements such as Catholics switching from Labour to Conservative, as have ethnic minorities. If you mean the performance of Reform in the last election I think that is largely because of the deep unpopularity of the last Conservative government, and the perception that Labour are no different (which the new government seems determined to prove true). While Reform is an anti-immigrant party, I do not think most of their voters are. My experience (as ethnic minority British) is that the UK is a lot less racist than it was in the 1980s - my lifetime as seen a pretty much continual decline of racism.