OISE Young Learner (OISE House, Binsey Lane, Oxford OX2 0EY) has been operating for over 40 years since 1973. The school prides itself on being among the best institutions for training learners on intensive English language study. The school attracts students from all over the world who need to learn English as their primary language of instruction so that they can get into high schools and institutions of higher learning.
Many people have had much to say about the business model of the school. What school doesn’t pay attention to the needs of its learners and teaching staff? The teachers are underpaid and the students live in terrible conditions. The school has failed to address the issues and any form of dissent whether from teachers or learners is crushed promptly. As a stranger to the school you’d probably go to their website and read a glowing tribute to a four-decade-old school. As a parent who has sent their child there, you’ll constantly be hearing complaints from your children about the quality of education in the institution.
The school is basically making supernormal profits and it is not doing anything to make the academic journey better for its students and staff. The teachers are thoroughly demoralised and they don’t get anything close to what would be expected from such an institution. A child pays 90 dollars an hour at the high end for these average to poor teaching services rendered. A teacher is paid an average of 15 dollars an hour which is meagre compared to what other educational institutions, not just in the UK but worldwide pay for these services.
About their supernormal profits, where are those profits being channelled? The school claims a native English background with intensive English language therapy for non-English learners. Russian speakers have crowded the school, both as teachers and students. This doesn’t at all appeal to a parent who needs to bring his child to a school that motivates use of the English language. What is the Russian connection that they are unwilling to let on? The school appeals to children from countries looking to enter a college program in the UK which needs them to learn English first. What have the authorities found out about the school?
Why does the school charge so much for poor services? It is difficult to understand where those profits have gone to since this particular branch of the franchise started operating.
Authorities should have a say in what kinds of standards institutions like these need to maintain so as to be given educational charters.
Teachers have had a lot to say about the way OISE senior management handle the school. Teachers are repressed and their voices are often ignored by the school administration. It is no wonder the school has such a high turnover for its teaching staff. No one stays there more than a few months.
OISE needs to step up its game.
