Home Office bans 60 universities and colleges from enrolling international students in 'emergency' clampdown
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Version 0 of 1. The Home Office has banned 60 universities and colleges across the country from taking-on any more international students in an unprecedented clampdown. In an emergency statement made by Immigration Minister, James Brokenshire, in the House of Commons, he said that the highly-trusted sponsor status of the educational establishments had been suspended following a “detailed and wide-ranging investigation into actions by organised criminals to falsify English language tests for student visa applicants.” In his statement, he added: “We have told two universities – the University of Bedfordshire and University of West London – that they are no longer allowed to sponsor new students pending further investigations which will decide whether they, too, should be suspended.” An inquiry carried out by the Government found that an estimated 48,000 immigrants may have fraudulently obtained English language certificates – despite being unable to speak the language. Last year, BBC’S Panorama brought the issue to the forefront after it carried out an undercover investigation which found routine cheating in Government-approved exams. It also found a thriving market in false documents which was enabling immigrants to stay in Britain illegally. In the investigation, one immigration consultancy business in London offered a guaranteed pass for a £500 fee – before inadvertently sending one of the programme's undercover students to sit the English exam at a college which was ‘trusted’ by the Home Office. Watch a clip of the BBC undercover investigation which revealed fraud in the UK visa system, especially abuse of an English exam: In the wake of the Panorama programme, Home Secretary, Theresa May, said: “For too long, many colleges – particularly private or further education colleges – have been selling visas and not education. It is time for them to face up to their responsibilities as purveyors of education and not abuse. “The student visa regime we inherited was open to widespread abuse. It neither controlled immigration nor protected legitimate students from substandard sponsors. “Our reforms have curbed abuse by closing bogus colleges, making the application process more rigorous and imposing more rules on colleges to improve course quality.” In his speech this week, Mr Brokenshire said the Home Office had also suspended the “highly trusted” status of Glyndwr University, in north Wales, which enables it to sponsor the visas of non-European Union students. A spokesman for Glyndwr University said the establishment was “deeply upset” that its sponsor licence had been suspended and that it was working with the UK Visas and Immigration “to investigate the issues raised.” Another spokesman, for the University of Bedfordshire, said the university was “confident” it will get through the process to “demonstrate the robustness of our procedures.” The current Shadow Minister for Universities, Science and Skills, Labour MP Liam Byrne, hit-out at the Conservatives and said Labour supported “any action” that protects the “hard-earned reputation” of UK higher education. He added that the “threat has come from another immigration crisis that’s happened on this government’s watch.” |