If you don't speak English you can't belong in Britain

When the last Labour government introduced a requirement that immigrants who wished to marry a British citizen must learn English before coming to live here, it struck most people as a perfectly reasonable expectation. But that requirement is now being challenged in the High Court on two grounds. First, it is said to be racially discriminatory, because it impacts disproportionately on certain ethnic groups; and second, under the European Convention on Human Rights, it is said to obstruct the right to family life.

The case has been brought by Rashida Chapti, who wishes to bring her husband to the UK from India. Her barrister claims that the language requirement contravenes Article 8, the right to family life, and Article 12, the right to marry. Mrs Chapti is reported to have travelled back and forth between India and Leicester for about 15 years, but now wishes to settle here with her husband.

The Labour government planned to bring the requirement into force in July 2011, but it was brought forward to November 2010 by the Coalition. When Theresa May, the Home Secretary, announced her plans, she said: “I believe being able to speak English should be a pre-requisite for anyone who wants to settle here. The new English requirement for spouses will help promote integration, remove cultural barriers and protect public services.”

The requirement is not too exacting. Applicants will have to demonstrate English at “A1 level”, which requires them to demonstrate a basic command of conversational English, currently the same as the level required for skilled workers who have been offered a job in the UK. Similar expectations apply to immigrants seeking work throughout the EU. Since 2006, France has tightened up its rules. Anyone without a job, and especially if they lack scarce skills, must go through the French consulate in their home country. They have to prepare a petition showing why they should be allowed in. If they can’t speak French they have little chance.

Australia requires applicants for work visas to have “vocational English”, which means they must be able to read, write, understand and speak English well enough to hold down a job. Applicants may be required to take an independent test of proficiency. Canada requires proficiency in either English or French, and also requires applicants to take a language test from an approved agency.

Why should this matter? Modern nations are more than collections of isolated individuals who just happen to live in the same geographical space. We value not only our personal freedom but also the ability to uphold a particular culture, whether Irish, Welsh, Scots or from further afield. Our system allows space for personal and cultural freedom – but such freedom is only sustainable if we have something in common. A nation holds together because we each accept an obligation to search for the common good, despite differences. There is such a thing as the public interest, and an intangible sense of public spirit is also a vital ingredient of a successful country. On occasion a nation may even call for self-sacrifice from its members.
Read more

UPSC needs time to release the model paper: Civil Services exam to be delayed by a month

Hyderabad,31st Oct: The Civil Services examinations next year will be delayed by a month. The preliminary test will be held on June 12 and the Mains on October 29, 2011 as per the schedule announced on Thursday.
The notification for the 2011 exam will be released on February 19, 2011. Generally the notification comes out every December for the exam to be held the following year. The delay of two months in the issue of notification is apparently due to the changes brought in the pattern and the syllabus from the next year.
“The UPSC needs time to release the model paper and is perhaps also gauging the reaction of the aspirants to the changes announced,” feels V. Gopala Krishna, Director, Brain Tree. He, however, feels the results may be released as usual in the first week of August.
He advices students to focus on completing preparation for their optionals well before the preliminary examination as the gap between the preliminary result and the Main examination will be hardly two months.
Read more

School Service Commission West Bengal Clerk / Group d results | School Service Commission Results 2010 | WB SSC Results

The West Bengal School Service Commission Act, 1997 (West Bengal Act IV 1997) enacted by Notification No. 936-L dated 1.4.1997 came into force with effect from 01.11.1997 for the purpose of recruitment of Assistant Teacher and Headmaster/ Headmistress in recognized Non-Government aided Schools in West Bengal and presently the recruitment processes are guided by the West Bengal School Service Commission (Selection of Persons for Appointment to the Post of Teacher) Rules, 2007. The State Government later on decided that the Non-Teaching Staff in the posts of Librarian, Clerk and Group-D Staff including Laboratory Attendant, Peon, Night Guard, Matron in recognized Non-Government aided Schools in West Bengal should also be recruited through School Service Commission, and accordingly necessary amendments have been introduced in the said Act, vide the West Bengal School Service Commission (Amendment) Act, 2008 (West Ben. Act IV of 2008) and such selection process be guided by the West Bengal School Service Commission (Selection of Persons for Appointment to the Post of Non-Teaching Staff) Rules, 2009.
The West Bengal School Service Commission has published the Result of the Preliminary Screening Examination for the post of Clerk and Group-D Staff under 1st RLST(NT) 2010 in Non-Govt Aided Schools has been published on 3rd December, 2010.
You can check the results from the below links.
Click here for WBSSC Clerk and Group-D Staff under 1st RLST(NT) 2010
Read more

SSC October exam results out today

PUNE: The result of the repeaters' exam, conducted by the Maharashtra State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education for students of std X during September and October this year, will be announced on December 7.
A statement issued by the board on Monday said that the result would be announced on the official websites http://mahresult.nic.in and www.msbshse.ac.in at 11 am. Students will be able to see their subject-wise marklists on the website and take a print out.
Students will get the actual marklists in their respective high schools at 3 pm on December 10. The respective high schools will be handed over the marklists of their students and the detailed result of the school and summary of the result at 11 am on December 10.
Students who wish to apply for re-evaluation of their marks can submit their applications from December 11 onwards, after receiving the original marklist from the school the previous day. The last date for submitting the application forms to respective divisional boards is December 20. An attested photocopy of the original marklist has to be attached to the application form. A photocopy of the marklist downloaded from the website will not be accepted, the statement said.
Those who wish to reappear for the SSC exam to be conducted by the board in February-March 2011 have to submit their forms with a stipulated fee to the respective schools by December 20. Forms with late fees will be accepted till December 28.
The board has clarified that students who passed the October 2010 exam in all the six subjects but wish to improve their scores with the help of the class improvement scheme of the board, can also appear for the SSC exam to be held during February-March 2011. However, those who have appeared for the October exam under the class improvement scheme, will not be allowed to use the scheme for the February-March exam.
As many as 1.56 lakh students from 12,906 schools appeared for the repeaters' exam held in October through divisional boards in Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Mumbai, Kolhapur, Amravati, Nashik and Latur.

Read more