The large-scale mushrooming of fake Indian agents working on behalf of lesser-known foreign universities are to blame for students falling prey to fraudulent institutions like Tri-Valley University (TVU) in the US, say experts.
The large-scale mushrooming of fake Indian agents working on behalf of lesser-known foreign universities are to blame for students falling prey to fraudulent institutions like Tri-Valley University (TVU) in the US, say experts.
“This is sad but true. In India, we have no regulatory mechanism to monitor agents working for foreign universities. These agents work for lesser-known or fraud universities abroad and dupe Indian students. They mislead students into joining fake universities abroad like TVU in the US,” says Manjula Raman, a career counsellor and principal of Army Public School, Bangalore.
Experts feel that Indian students could have avoided the inhuman treatment of being tagged with radio-collars on their ankles, after being caught up in a visa and immigration scam at TVU, had they got admissions through proper channels.
Reports suggest that a large number of Indian students have been duped in various fake Australian and Canadian institutions.
“Students aspiring to study abroad should take help from only legitimate agents, working for recognised foreign varsities. The agents should also offer career counselling to students,” Raman adds.
Students should also do their own homework, including research over the internet and interaction with former-students of educational institutions abroad, to find out whether the foreign varsities they are seeking to enter are genuine or not.
The central government is mulling over enacting a new law to rein in fake agents. The ministry of overseas Indian affairs will introduce a bill in the coming session of Parliament, making it mandatory for all education agents to register with the government. Under the proposed law, fake agents, if caught, will face severe jail term.
The proposed law also aims to create a database of students studying abroad, making it easier to reach them in their hour of need. “Till the law is not enacted, students have to venture outside the country, at their own risk,” rues Raman.
“We only engage legitimate agents to work on behalf of UK-based educational institutions. Many UK education institutions work with local agents/representatives in India. The university, college or school enters into an agreement with an agent to represent their institution to students in India who are considering overseas education,” said an official of British Council, Bangalore, who did not wish to be named.
The British Council hosted a two-day long Education UK exhibition, which concluded on Saturday.
“The British Council supports agents representing accredited UK institutions. We want to make sure that we help agents to provide good quality advice to enable students to make informed decisions about their future. That’s why we’ve established the Education UK agent training programme to share our expertise and knowledge about UK education,” added the official.
On Sunday, Bangalore hosted the World Education Fair — which saw institutions from the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, France, Singapore and Switzerland sharing information about educational facilities available in their countries with Bangalore students.
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