The British College (TBC) situated in Thapathali, Kathmandu has been dragged into controversy as the students of the college protested against alleged ‘cheating and mismanagement’ of the college management. They claimed that they were forced to giving money under false terms and conditions then taken to Dubai where they had to work as laborers in the pretext of completing an internship.
After the controversy escalated, the victimized students complained their problem to students unions, which led to acts of vandalism against TBC. As hundreds of students enrolled in the college lost their money as well their valuable time in the pretext of earning a degree with international recognition, they realized that the college actually cheated them, which finally led them to seek government intervention.
The students have also taken their grievances to social media platforms saying that they were victimized by the fraudulent acts of the college in the name of quality education. The college charged them Rs. 1 million to Rs. 1.5 million in the name of providing quality education and earning an international degree. The victimized students have started protesting against the college management in and around the college premises for more than a week. The Ministry of Education has also set up a committee to look into the issue.
Officials at the Ministry of Education on Sunday organized a tripartite dialogue involving the students and their parents, representatives of the college administration and the ministry officials at the ministry’s office. During the discussion, various issues relating to the college management such as licensing of education, internships abroad, high fee charges, mis-information by the college as well as the future of students.
Although the college promised the students to offer Bachelor of Hospitality Management (BHM) course during advertisement as well as counseling, the students didn’t receive the mentioned degree on completion of the course. The college adopted a pathway delivery method to the students through making false promises.
According to the Ministry of Education all that the college is permitted to offer is a Non-Credit Foundation Course, which lasts for a year, and that these are not credited towards a bachelor’s degree. However, the college is alleged to have used these as part of the degree as they charged more than a million rupees from the students.
As per existing regulations, educational institutions lack the official right to function as consultancies to transfer students to third countries. But TBC is found to be transferring students to Dubai for two years by charging high amounts of fees after completing one year studies in Kathmandu, which is illegal, and the Ministry has termed as “unauthorized transfers.”
The college seems to be functioning under a conflict of interest as Rajan Kandel, the Executive Chairman of The British College in Nepal, is also serving as the CEO of The Woolwich Institute in Dubai. He is also the head of the Kandel Group based in the same building where TBC is located in Thapathali, Kathmandu.
According to the victimized students, the biggest fraud about the college is with the Dubai-based institution, where they are being sent illegally. Findings suggest that the Dubai based organization is a training institute for employment purposes rather than a place for learning.
TBC asserts that the institute in Dubai is an autonomous academic institution. But it has been found that it delivers only “Vocational Certificates.”
Why are the students being charged high fees like other foreign institutes, especially since it is claimed that the college has been sending Nepali teachers to Dubai to teach Nepali school students there.
The environment in which the students in Dubai are staying and learning also raises humanitarian issues.
Students complained that they are forced to work for 10 to 12 hours a day washing dishes and cleaning floors in the hotel. The amount they earned was only between 700 to 1,000 Dirham (approximately NPR 25,000 to 35,000) per month, which was not sufficient for living in Dubai. Around two dozen students are forced to live in small congested room with a shared kitchen which the students term as an inhuman treatment. The students call it a kind of human trafficking rather than teaching students in a school environment.
Finally, it was found that many students had their certificates stamped “fake” or “unrecognized” by other universities within Australia or Nepal, thus casting uncertainty over their future studies or career.
However, the British College has issued a statement claiming the charges labelled by the students and parents as false claiming they were running as per the existing rules and regulations.
The college termed the charge of “human trafficking” or “exploitation” as baseless, false and defamatory, linking it to “outside infiltrators.”
They claim that everything related to housing, intern programs, and curriculum was made known to students prior to enrollment.
The list of the two colleges and subjects for which The British College received official permission as mentioned in the government report, versus the list displayed on its own website.
the public outcry, an investigation committee was formed by the Ministry of Education.
The Education Minister invited victims of fraud perpetrated by foreign-affiliated colleges to come forward with evidence, suspecting that many colleges are delivering poor-quality education based on fraudulent credentials.
As per the preliminary findings the Ministry states that it was evident that the college overstepped its jurisdiction by taking its students abroad.
Lately, the fifteen students who returned from Dubai, along with the new intake, are continuing their protests actions for a refund and pursuing legal action against the operators of the college. The parents of the cheated students said that the government should take stern action against the college besides refunding the students’ fees.
