College fraud claim: Payments to a Cardiff campus and its students were suspended

A recruiter for West London Vocational Training College in Cardiff said they could cheat their way to receiving thousands of pounds, Recruiter, Kazi Shajahan offered to sell coursework needed for qualifications.

It prompted Education Minister Huw Lewis to suspend payments to West London Vocational Training College and to its Cardiff students.

The college, based on the city's Greyfriars Road, has nearly 100 IT and business students. Those on Higher National Diplomas (HNDs) can receive up to £17,000 a year in loans and grants, which will only be repaid when they earn more than £21,000 annually.

One of the journalists faked a GCSE certificate and applied for funding which was approved. Another potential student, who does not want to be identified, says Mr Shajahan offered him the chance to take part. "He was offering £10,000 student finance plus the grant," he claimed.

Also College principal Dr Manoj Kumar is revealed to have faked his Cambridge University PhD and teaching certificates

Courtesy: BBC Wales presenter Tim Rogers and the Week In Week Out team uncovered the allegations Week In Week Out is on BBC One Wales at 22:40 GMT on Tuesday, 1 December

List of suspended or revoked colleges as of 24th October, 2014

The UK government has revoked the licences of 54 private colleges as of 23rd October, 2014, in its investigation into immigration fraud launched in June. The institutions were among 57 centres to have their licences suspended by the Home Office (Refer our earlier post)

Simon Walker, director-general of the Institute of Directors, said he was "appalled" by how overseas students had been caught up in targets for reducing immigration into the UK. “Universities were victims of political point-scoring”, said Mr Walker.

We at UKEducationForAll.com kindly urge that all Sponsors who take students from institutions whose licences have been revoked will need to undertake their normal compliance checks and there is no reason in principle why they should not accept such students who have not, individually, been found to be at fault.

We like to emphasise that Institutions who have their licences revoked still have a duty of care in ensuring that their students complete their studies and we firmly expect that they will honour this and assist in making appropriate arrangements.

Students, who are still unclear or concerned about their immigration status should contact Home Office on 0114 207 1688 (UK) or 0044 114 207 1688 (outside UK) between 9:00am and 5:00pm, Monday to Friday and 9:00am to 1:00pm on Saturday.

The following Colleges can no longer recruit or teach international students (Licenses Revoked or Surrendered)

1. Alpha Meridian College – Revoked

2. APS Computer Solutions Ltd Trading As Pitman Training Centre Peterborough – Revoked

3. Birmingham Institute of Education Training and Technology – Revoked

4. Blake Hall College – Revoked

5. Bradford College of Management – Surrendered

6. Bradford Metropolitan College – Revoked

7. Bradford Regional College – Revoked

8. Bristol College of Accountancy – Revoked

9. Britain College – Surrendered

10.CAHRO Academy Ltd – Revoked

11.Central College London (a division of Huawen Institute) – Revoked

12.Central Cranbrook College – Revoked

13.Citizen 2000 Education Institute – Revoked

14.City of London Academy – Revoked

15.College of Advanced Studies – Revoked

16.College of East London – Revoked

17.College of Excellence Limited – Revoked

18.Essex College Ltd – Revoked

19.Eynsford College – Revoked

20.Forbes Graduate School – Revoked

21.Hammersmith Management College – Revoked

22.Helios International College – Revoked

23.Interlink College of Technology and Business Studies – Revoked

24.Katherine and King's College of London – Revoked

25.Kinnaird College – Revoked

26.LIT LON Ltd – Revoked

27.London Academy of Management and Business (LAMB) – Surrendered

28.London Churchill College – Surrendered

29.London College of Finance and Accounting – Revoked

30.London College of Business Management and Computing Studies –Surrendered

31.London Corporate College – Revoked

32.London Metropolitan College – Revoked

33.London Premier College Limited – Revoked

34.London Regal College – Revoked

35.London School of Marketing Trading As LS Business School – Revoked

36.London School of Technology – Revoked

37.London St. Andrew's College – Revoked

38.Manchester College of Management Sciences Limited – Revoked

39.Manchester International College – Revoked

40.Manchester Trinity College Limited – Revoked

41.Midlands Academy of Business and Technology – Revoked

42.North West College Reading – Revoked

43.Pharez UK Ltd Trading As Pharez College – Revoked

44.Queensbury College – Revoked

45.Radcliffe College – Revoked

46.Sanjari International College – Revoked

47.Shakespeare College – Revoked

48.Stanfords College UK Limited – Revoked

49.Superior College London – Revoked

50.UK Business Academy – Revoked

51.UK Vocational Training College Trading As UK College of Arts and

Technology – Revoked

52.Vernon Community College – Revoked

53.West George College – Revoked

54.West London Business College Ltd – Revoked

As at 23 October 15:00

Reference

List of suspended colleges in UK 2014

list of revoked colleges in UK 2014

List of suspended or revoked colleges as of 24th  October, 2014 ( Updated Frequently)

Home office crack down on Visa fraud

An estimated 48,000 immigrants may have fraudulently obtained English language certificates despite being unable to speak English, the government has said, Of the 48,000 certificates, 29,000 were invalidand 19,000 were "questionable". said Immigration Minister James Brokenshire.

Glyndwr University has lost its ‘highly trusted’ sponsor status after the test scores of more than 230 students it sponsored were identified as being invalid, while the University of West London (UWL) and the University of Bedfordshire have been barred from sponsoring new international students pending further investigations to decide whether they will also be suspended.

Nearly 300 overseas students at the private London School of Business and Finance (LSBF) worked and paid tax last year, with one student working 60 hours a week for six months.

In an investigation, HMRC found that some of the students were earning £ 20 000 per year despite rules preventing them from working 20 hours per week during term time.

“London campuses are home to a high proportion of international students, and QAA has been in discussions with the Home Office over the best way to protect their interests.”

In a latest development, The QAA, The Higher education watch dog has written to 14 universities about their London operations

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is conducting an independent inquiry into higher education delivered via London branch campuses

Full list of universities included in the QAA inquiry:

Anglia Ruskin University
Bangor University
Coventry University
University of Cumbria
University of East Anglia
Glasgow Caledonian University
Glyndwr University
University of Liverpool
Loughborough University
Northumbria University
University of Sunderland
University of Ulster
University of Wales Trinity St David
University of South Wales


Full list of suspended colleges in 2014

The Student Visa Scandal - Fraud in Student Visa System Exposed

The Student Visa Scandal
Will broadcast in BBC One, Monday 10 February at 20:30 BST, by Richard Watson

"What Panorama has uncovered is extremely important, it's very shocking and I want to do something about it”

Home Secretary Theresa May

• The Home Office has suspended English language tests run by a major firm after BBC Panorama uncovered systematic fraud in the student visa system
  
• The Home Secretary said the government had suspended the two colleges (immigration consultancy called Studentway Education in Southall, West London and Eden College International in East London)
  
• All further English language tests done through ETS in the UK had also been suspended
  (ETS - One of the biggest English language testing companies in the world)
  
• Fake Bank documents: Undercover researchers were also sold fake bank details to show they had enough funds to stay in the UK
  
  

Courtesy: BBC, Video Link to the undercover footage  

London Metropolitan University Suspended

The UK Border Agency has revoked (withdrawn) London Metropolitan University's license to sponsor students from outside the European Union.

Well, What this means to you as an non EU student/ existing London Metropolitan University student or a new student who is planning to travel to the UK

If you are an existing London Metropolitan University student with a current, valid visa and on holiday outside the UK, then you can return to the UK. London Metropolitan University students who are already in the UK with a current, valid UK visa do not need to do anything immediately. More significant matter is if you are a new student who is planning to travel to the UK to start studying with London Metropolitan University then you should not travel.

London Metropolitan University's HTS status was suspended last month while the UK Border Agency (UKBA) examined alleged failings consequently it was revoked (withdrawn) yesterday, meaning thousands of its non EU students may face deportation and the university is stripped of its right to admit non EU students.


More on This Story

Why has London Metropolitan University been banned from accepting foreign students from outside of the European Union? An interesting analysis by BBC Home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani: London Met's foreign students

Students from London Metropolitan University launched a sit-in protest: video;

A blog entry at Guardian written by a lecturer at London Metropolitan University on University's license revocation and students English standards

Q&A on London Metropolitan University's visa licence suspension/revokation

What Should I do if my College Licence is suspended?

What Should I do if my College Licence is suspended?

College licence suspension means they are suspended from recruiting new students. Existing students will remain with the college as long as the licence is not withdrawn

My analytics shows that the entrant keywords for this web site are closely related to suspended colleges, which in turn reflects that popular demand is to keep a tab on their college’s current status.

During the past this blog had focused more on education policies in UK and immigration regulations in general but In order to cater to the demand based on analytics and popular queries, from now onwards this blog will be focusing more on student immigration matters, college regulations and hot topics such as suspended colleges

Mentioned below are some popular queries raised by students. In order to understand the consequences of college suspension let us see some sample cases

1. Question: I am a student, from India what if my colleges licence is withdrawn, just before i log my application to the VFS

Answer: If your approved education provider’s licence is withdrawn, your visa letter (CAS – Confirmation of acceptance of study) will become invalid and you will not be able to use it to support any application for

leave to come to the United Kingdom. Any applications made using an invalid CAS will be refused.


2. Question: I am a student at BITE, My college licence is suspended what I should do ?

Answer: Your query does not mention when your leave to remain (LTR) ends, Hovwer with the limited information I assume you have enough LTR

Refer my latest post on Suspended Colleges in UK 2011, as to how to find out whether your college’s licence is re instated or not

In short you need not do anything, Wait and hope that they will be back sooner..!

3. Question: Hello i am doing my MBA and i am left with my dissertation which i need to submit on august 12 2011 however my college is in suspension and my visa is going to get expire on 31july 2011, what do i do? do i have extend my visa from some other college or can apply from the same college which is suspension. since i had spoken in my college with regards to my extension they says, they won’t be able to provide CAS letter until college return to tier4 sponsor list, so kindly advice me what should i do. can i take conditional letter from college and apply for the visa

Answer: If your suspended college cannot issue a new CAS (to make possible you to renew your visa) you have to find another college! And apply for a fresh visa

4. Question: My College is not in operation, initially the licence was suspended and recently they have closed down the college 

Answer: It looks like your college licence was suspended and consequently withdrawn by UKBA. They will limit your permission to stay to 60 days if you were not involved in the reasons why your college had their licence withdrawn

(UKBA will not limit your permission to stay if you have less than six months left. You may want to apply for permission to stay with another approved education provider during this time)

This post will be continually updated with popular queries from you, you can check out frequently to find out further insight here

Feel free to comment on the dire consequences you faced due to the suspension of your colleges sponsor status

You can subscribe to our email news letter FREE of charge, all new updates will be emailed instantly to your inbox

Suspended Colleges in UK 2011

Suspended Colleges in UK 2011

Due to the popular request of users of this blog and unavailability of full list of suspended colleges in London or UK", I felt I should clarify the matter for our regular readers/visitors,

UKBA does not publish details of colleges whose Tier 4 sponsor license has been revoked or suspended. There is no site which updates list of all the names of suspended colleges in UK daily,

Now let us see how to find out the current list of suspended colleges in UK, by our self

The list of Register of Sponsors (Tier 4 General & Child) or Popularly known as Tier 4 List of Sponsor Colleges is regularly updated by the UKBA, You can access current list here1, compare the current list with the list provided here2, for any selected college you can see its current status by comparing these two lists

If the selected college is not in both lists then its licence is either withdrawn or suspended (Hope this answers your popular query)

If you could locate your college, then it will be of one of this category: License Upgraded or License Downgraded, or no changes at all.... in which ever situation you need not worry much, even if your college is downgraded since downgrading is a temporary measure and mostly it is upgraded back again

Tip: Use ctrl+F short cut key to locate/search your college name in the pdf

Feel free to comment on any discrepancies or suggestions/comments on the dire consequences you faced due to the suspension of your colleges sponsor status

Legal win for college in foreign student battle

Manchester College of Higher Education and Technology, in Cheetham Hill, has won a legal fight to get back its license to sponsor overseas students.

Read more here

Foreign student crackdown

Up to 100,000 foreign students will be barred from Britain every year under planned tough new immigration rules to be unveiled tomorrow

Ministers will suggest reducing further the current restriction that students can only work for 20 hours a week to supplement their funds and are likely to raise the bar as to when they can bring dependants with them, which is currently set at those staying for six months or more.
Click here to read further

Click here to read my earlier predictions made in September, 2010


Rushdy Razak

Bogus students facing global crackdown

"Unscrupulous" recruitment agents who bring bogus overseas students into the UK are being targeted in an international initiative.

The British Council has for the first time brought together countries including the UK, the US and Australia to try to keep out such students.

The council says there are "widespread concerns" about dishonest agents.

Universities say the majority of agents are legitimate and are an important way of finding overseas students.

Rogue agents are accused of falsifying documents and helping people to get around the student visa system, the rules of which immigration authorities in the UK have tried to tighten.

Expanding business

It is a problem that raises concerns about illegal immigration and the possibility of people with terrorist intentions coming into the country, although in many cases it is the students themselves who are being duped.

A meeting of immigration and education authorities in London, the first of its kind, is intended to co-ordinate a multi-national response.

Higher education has become a globalised market and the British Council says there needs to be an international approach to tackling fraud.

In particular there are concerns about agents fraudulently sending students from Pakistan, India, Kazakhstan and parts of Africa.

Legitimate agents recruit for a commission, which can be worth several thousands of pounds per student, bringing overseas students to universities, colleges and language schools.

Four out of five UK universities use agents, says the British Council, with "many thousands" of individual agents working in this expanding business.

The British Council says that some dishonest agents advertise courses as a route to migration and claim to "guarantee" success in admission tests.

Agents have also cheated honest applicants, who are misled into paying for courses at bogus colleges, which are nothing like the places that agents have described.

The British Council says agents have been caught passing off "two-room colleges as prestigious institutions".

Read More the latest BBC report here

Master List of Suspended Colleges in London

Below given is the list of Suspended Colleges in London . This list is accurate from December 2009 to March 2010
If you notice that any school/college is not in our list , pls. let us know

Hamilton College London
Access College London
Albion College
Albion College’s UKBA inspection is on Feb 10
alliance resource nvq training centre
Alpha Meridian College – Inspected 16 February 2010 – Suspension lifted 18 March 2010
Anglian College London – Suspension lifted 26 March 2010
Anglo-Continental Suspension lifted February 17 2010
Archbishop Ilsley Catholic Technology College
Arthur Mellows Village College
AVALON SCHOOL OF ENGLISH – Suspension lifted 16 March 2010
Aylesford School
Barry Comprehensive School
Barton Court Grammar School
Bc College Of North West London
Belgrave High School
Berlitz Brighton
Birkenhead High School
Bishop Challoner School
Bites College
Blessed George Napier School
Bliss Services UK Ltd T/A Bliss College
Blue Coat Church of England School & Music College
Bramcote School Suspension lifted 17 February 2010
Bristol College of Accountancy
Britannia College of Excellence
BRYNMAWR FOUNDATION SCHOOL
Cavendish College London – Suspension lifted 22 March 2010
Chosen Hill School
College of Excellance
College of Venereal Disease Prevention
Commonwealth Law College
concept care college
Coombe Dean School
Cranleigh School Suspension lifted 12 February 2010
Cromwell College Of IT & Management
Crossways Sixth Form
Dartford Grammar School for Boys
Denes High School
Dolphin School LLP Suspension lifted 17 February 2010
eCollege london Limited – Suspension lifted 31 March 2010
Edgware Academy – Suspension lifted 29 March 2010
Edinburgh School of Business
Eduational Programmes Abroad
Education Development College
EF Brittin College
EF International Language Schools (London)
EF International Language Schools Bournemouth – Suspension lifted 29 March 2010
English Country Schools Ltd. Suspension lifted 15 February 2010
Estover Community College
ETC International College – Suspension lifted 17 March 2010
Finham Park School
Futures College (Barking)
Gateway2uk Education
Girls’ Education Co Ltd
Global Vision College
Goffs School
Grafton College of Management Sciences – Suspension lifted 9 February 2010
Great West London College
Greenwich london college – Suspension lifted 25 March 2010
Guildhall College
Halifax College – Suspension lifted 11 March 2010
hammersmith management college
Havelock Academy
Holborn College Suspension lifted 5 February 2010
ICON College of Technology and Management – Suspension lifted 31 March 2010
Impington Village college
Katherine & King’s College of London
Kensington College
Kimbolton School Suspension lifted 10 February 2010
King David High School
King Edward VII School
Kingston Grammar School Suspension lifted 17 February 2010
King Street College Suspension lifted 22 February 2010
Leading Management Ltd T/A Stevens College ofTechnology and Management Suspension lifted 5 February 2010
Leicester Square School of English
Leeds College of Art and Design Changed name to Leeds College of Art
Leeds English Language School – Suspension lifted 15 February 2010
Leeds Professional College
London Academy for Higher Education
London Ambassador College – Suspension lifted 31 March 2010
london Bridge Business Academy
London College of Accountancy & Management
London College of Business & Computer Studies
London College of Business and Management – inspected 10 March 2010
London College of Engineering and Management
London College of Excellence
London College of Finance & Accounting – Suspension lifted 17 March 2010
London College Of Law & Management – Suspension lifted 31 March 2010
London Commonwealth College of Law & Business Studies
London Crown College
London East Bank College
London Institute of Technical Education
London Reading College
London School of Accountancy and Management – Inspected 19 February 2010
London School of Business & Computing
London School of Business and Finance – Suspension lifted 01 April 2010. Most likely a mistake from UKBA resulted in them being removed from the Register in the first place (they disappeared for only 1 day).
London School of Marketing – Inspection claimed to be 5 February 2010
London Training College (Lewisham / Waterloo)
LTC College
Luckley-Oakfield School Trust Ltd Suspension lifted 17 February 2010
Ludgrove School Trust LTD Suspension lifted 17 February 2010
Lyceum Academy
Majestic College
Malvern House – Suspension lifted 02 March 2010
Matthew Boulton College of Further & Higher Education
Mayfair School of English
Metropolitan College London
Michael Hall School Suspension lifted 17 February 2010
millennium city academy – Suspension lifted 16 March 2010
Monk’s Walk School
Moor Park Charitable Trust Ltd Suspension lifted 17 February 2010
Moyles Court School Suspension lifted 17 February 2010
New London College
Newcastle College – Suspension lifted 23 March 2010
North London College of Business Studies
North London Collegiate School Suspension lifted 17 February 2010
North London Management School Limited
North Tyneside Council
Nottingham Girls’ High School Suspension lifted 17 February 2010
OVT College
Oxbridge College of IT & Management (was B rated before it was removed from the Register – licence permanently withdrawn?
Port Regis Suspension lifted 12 February 2010
Portland Place School Suspension lifted 17 February 2010
PORTSLADE COMMUNITY COLLEGE 6TH FORM
Putney High School Suspension lifted 17 February 2010
Rayat London College – Supposedly inspected 25th February 2010
Renaissance International College
Rims College
Roding College
Samuel Ward Arts and Technology College
SAN Michael College Ltd
School of Information Risk Management – Inspected 11 February 2010
Sherborne Preparatory School: Suspension lifted 11 February 2010
Shimna Integrated College
Simon Balle School
Spinnaker College – Suspension lifted 19 March 2010
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School
St Brigid’s School
St Edmund’s School Canterbury Suspension lifted 12 February 2010
St.George’s College London
St John’s Catholic Comprehensive School
St. Martin’s Business School
St Mary’s Wrestwood Children’s Trust
Stoke Park School and Community Technology College
St-Patrick’s College – Inspected 15 February 2010 – Suspension lifted 4 March 2010
Stratford College of Management – Suspension lifted 31 March 2010
Sutton Coldfield College
Swanlea School
Taitec college manchester
TASMAC UK Ltd. / TASMAC London School of Business – supposedly inspected 17 February 2010 – Suspension lifted 17 March 2010
THAMES INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE
The Brakenhale School
THE BROXBOURNE SCHOOL
THE BUSINESS SCHOOL OF LONDON
The Chauncy School
The Netherhall School & Sixth Form Centre
the Practice Development Unit
The Royal Grammar School (High Wycombe)
The Secretary College
THE SIR JOHN COLFOX SCHOOL
The WELS Group
TOCKINGTON MANOR SCHOOL Suspension lifted 12 February 2010
Tollbar Business and Enterprise College
Trans-Atlantic College
tudor college
Twin Training International Ltd – Suspension Lifted on 3rd March 2010, re-included on Register 9 March 2010
UK college of business and computing – Suspension lifted 23 March 2010
UKhelp4u Academy of English Language Limited
United College Ltd
Unity College
Upton-By-Chester High School
Victoria College Belfast
Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School
Wallington High School for Girls
Warnborough College – Inspected 17 February 2010
Weald of Kent Grammar School
West Berkshire District Council
Westgate School
West London Business College Ltd – Inspected 8 February 2010 – Suspension lifted 22 March 2010
Westlands School (Mathematics and Computing College)
Williams College UK Ltd – Suspension lifted 23 March 2010
Wilson College