In one week in September, two major English language schools closed abruptly. EC English Language Centres ceased trading on 14 September, affecting roughly 1,500 students in 24 schools across seven destinations. A few days later, on 18 September, ILAC filed for bankruptcy disrupting the studies of nearly 1,400 students in Toronto and Vancouver.
These closures are part of a wider pattern across Canada, the UK, Ireland and elsewhere. And they have raised difficult questions about trust and student protection within the ELT sector.
At the same time, the rapid sector response showed the strength of the ELT community as industry associations, schools, agents, and accommodation providers put competition aside to assist affected students.
In this special episode, ICEF Monitor's Editor in Chief Craig Riggs is joined by Gonzalo Peralta, the Executive Director of Languages Canada; Alexandre Argenta, President of the Brazilian Educational & Language Travel Association (BELTA); and Stephan Roussounis, CEO & Co-Founder of Bayswater Education.
The group explores the market pressures behind the closures, what the sector response got right and where it fell short, gaps in student protection across destinations, new ideas aimed at rebuilding trust, and whether better answers going forward are to be found within industry, government, or both.
You can listen right now in the player below, and we encourage you to subscribe via your favourite podcast app in order to receive future episodes automatically.
For additional background, please see: