Foreign Students In Aus Miffed Over Repeated English Test Requirements: Report

New York
International students in Australia are frustrated as they are spending hundreds of dollars on mandatory English language tests that expire after two years, according to a Guardian report. The students, who have to take the test again even if they have completed degrees in English and lived in Australia for years, say there is a conflict of interest between the organisations that set the rules and administer the test. The Australian government’s Department of Home Affairs accepts five English language tests for student visa applications, which includes IELTS, PTE, CAE, TOEFL and OET.
However, even after they have passed and finished their study in Australia, they have to retake language tests to enter some workplaces or undertake further study in Australia, such as Master’s or PhDs. Yusef, a student who has had to pay $1,600 on four three-hour IELTS (International English Language Testing System) tests during his eight years in Australia, believes it is a conflict of interest.
You have to again sit the test that universities have shares in… There is a definite conflict of interest. Sharing that one of his friends had to take the test 12 times, Yusef told the paper that paying $400 for the test burns a hole in the pocket, especially after spending tens of thousands of dollars to study in Australia. Most international students from countries like India, Pakistan, China, take the $400 IELTS test, which is jointly owned by the British Council, Cambridge University Press and Assessment, and the Australian company IDP Education.