Bogus colleges crush Gujarat students’ UK dreams

Driven by dreams of making a quick fortune, thousands of students from India — most of who are from Gujarat — go to the United Kingdom (UK) for higher education every year. But the dreams of many have been shattered after they discovered that they had been cheated by unscrupulous agents of some bogus UK colleges.

Bogus colleges and bogus agents are different sides of the same coin. There are many private colleges in Britain. these colleges runs into financial trouble, they are frequently purchased by frauds who have no intention of running the colleges at all.

Their sole aim is to make money by luring foreign students with offers of low fees. The British government has closed down at least 400 such colleges and is keeping an eye on the functioning of another 800.

The agents of the bogus colleges invariable claim to be ‘immigration consultants’, and charge between Rs1.5 and Rs2 lakh per student to get them admitted to a college in the UK. They are known to have demanded even Rs10 lakh from a student who was desperate to get into the UK anyhow.

If a youth is interested in just getting into Britain to make money, a bogus agent will fetch all the necessary documents for him, including a passport and educational certificates. Of course, they charge heavily for such ‘services’. They get the student admitted to an inexpensive, bogus college and then they disappear for good.

The condition of cheated students in the UK is becoming increasingly desperate by the day. Many have run out of money and are starving. They sleep on roads, and on benches in gardens. Some have committed suicide while many girl students have turned to prostitution to earn a few pounds to survive. Many of these students have no special skills and no work experience. They work at very low wages for exploitative employers, many of whom are also of Gujarati origin.

A student, Sapan Shah, told DNA over phone from London that it was nearly six months since he and many other students like him, had a wholesome meal. “Our colleges are actually empty buildings where no teaching takes place,” he said.
Indian girls turning to prostitution to survive has shocked the immigrant community in the UK.