Director of private college arrested in 'visa factory' schools probe
There are concerns about hundreds, if not thousands, of students paying colleges up to ?5,000 in fees and a further ?2,000 for documentation for questionable courses.
The Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) Operation Feather targeted at least five private colleges in recent days, because of concerns about bogus schools and possible immigration scams.
Students
The GNIB investigation calls into question the role of the Department of Education and Science in relation to private colleges.
Mauritius is a popular hunting ground for prospective students as it is one of the countries whose people do not need a visa to enter Ireland, although they require a visa to work here.
Ireland's reputation there has been severely damaged and one recent newspaper headline in that country refers to 'Ireland - the half truths about the new Eldorado'.
The college director, a Pakistani man living in Ireland for a number of years, was arrested at his home in Clonsilla, Dublin yesterday for suspected breaches of immigration legislation and possible breaches of the Trafficking Act 2000.
GNIB officers recently raided the director's college premises in Dublin and seized files. They had been in correspondence with the college concerning student attendance. Earlier this year the college was inspected by the Department of Education.
The college was recently removed from the department's Internationalisation Register, the approved list of courses for students who want to work part-time. The college is appealing the decision.
In February, a solicitor acting for the college said it had over almost 300 students - from Mauritius, India, China, Bangladesh, South Africa and Croatia.
Immigration officers had been refusing to provide work visas for students until they were satisfied with the information they received from the college.
Some students have received a refund for part of their fees from the college, but others have not. The college is now closed and students have no course, no visa and no work.
The Irish Council for International Students wrote to the college in February advising that students had serious financial problems because of their inability to work without visas.
At least 60 students have contacted the Citizens Advice Bureau in O'Connell Street, Dublin, which is advising them to take a case in the Small Claims Court.
Diarmuid Hegarty, chairman of the Higher Education Colleges Association (HECA), said there was a need for more stringency in the financial assessment of organisations appearing on the department's register.
The department said it did not have a regulatory role in regard to institutions in the private sector.
The criteria for inclusion in the register were that full-time programmes should lead to awards under the National Framework of Qualifications in Ireland, or awards by a professional body with a status in Irish law, or by a comparable body from another jurisdiction.
- Katherine Donnelly
