One of the students in my ESOL class today showed me a letter from the job centre to explain why he can't come to class on Friday. It says that he has to attend a training course or he will lose his Job Seekers' Allowance*. There's nothing especially unusual about that, the job centre like to waste people's time teaching them how to lick stamps and such. The unusual thing was the topic of this course. It seems he has to miss his ESOL class to go on a course about the importance of attending ESOL classes.



(*For overseas readers this is a welfare benefit paid to people who are unemployed but actively seeking work.)

Oh, my. That sounds like government talking.