23/5/07
A seminar to launch the College Compliance Partnership Group- a Tower Hamlets initiative - was hailed as a great step forward. The group comprises representatives from enforcement bodies, central government, accreditation agencies and colleges with the aim of operating a common joint approach to the problem of bogus colleges.
This followed pioneering work by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in identifying a number of rogue private colleges that misled students, including failure to provide adequate tuition, offering degrees from unrecognised (and sometimes fictitious) universities, illegally refusing refunds on cancellation; and failing to report students on visas who simply failed to attend classes.
There are estimated to be as many as 60 private colleges in Tower Hamlets alone and problem colleges can be found London-wide.
The seminar, opened by Jim FitzPatrick MP, heard from enforcement officers who had found colleges with 'extensive libraries' that consisted of one bookcase, and others where more than 50% of the students on educational visas had failed to attend and could not be traced, and where 'on-campus accommodation' was a dilapidated flat over a shop.
The meeting was also addressed by representatives from BAC, University of London, DfES and NARIC giving an overview of the processes involved in accrediting and inspecting colleges, and by representatives from Customs Labour Provider Group and the Police about related problems with the underground economy.
Anita Davis, Principal CSO, who organised the seminar said "Everyone who attended felt that they learned something new from this meeting. We will be holding further meetings to formalise information protocols, ensuring that we will be able to deal with these rogue colleges more effectively and establish a level playing field for those who intend to provide genuine educational opportunities"