I'm Patriotic.

Why else would I publish the following?

Prize survey for our potential international students

The British Council and UK Border Agency (the official British Government agency for visa services) run an annual survey which helps us to understand the motivations and attitudes of students looking to come to study in the UK.

The survey helps us to make sure we are providing the right information and support for students.

This year the British Council are offering loads of prizes for those who fill out the survey - you could win an X-Box 360 or an Apple MacBook, some i-tune vouchers and loads more great gear!

The survey takes only 15 minutes to complete and every 50th participant wins a prize - last year over 560 winners were selected from over 90 countries!

Enter the survey here!

"Every 50th participant wins a prize."

Of course, that little statement says it all really. The UK universities want the money from overseas students because they're underfunded by the UK government; they've turned themselves into supermarkets, offering goodies in order to get you to spend more.

And some reports suggest that supermarket goodies are bad for you.

The National Consumer Council said fatty and sugary foods now made up more than half (54%) of in-store supermarket promotions, nearly double the number recorded in the last survey in 2006.

Once upon a time universities offered a range of courses and you applied for what seemed to be the most appropriate for you at the time. That may well be true for some students, but I can think of several students who have been left in the lurch here in Jakarta because their university thought more about incoming fees than the quality of their courses.

And, yes, I'm thinking of the Ukrida Penabur International programme from which Curtin University in Perth, Australia, has withdrawn. Students have written to me with complaints about the generally poor service from Penabur staff who raised fees seemingly arbitrarily and then denied access to Curtin lecturers visiting Jakarta. I can only surmise that these were some of factors behind Curtin's decision.

Sadly, this is all the result of 'globalisation' and the drive for homogeneity rather than encouraging quests to realise one's potential in an open and creative manner.

Yep, I'm patriotic because as well as being a world citizen, I'm a country unto myself.
 

postID=6922155694065577228

¶ 5:30 pm