36. Memorandum submitted by
the Association of British Language Schools (ABLS)
Here are the replies I've received from Member
Schools so far, together with one attached letter [not printed].
I do hope that these views are helpful. Please bear in mind that
some of our Members do not have students who need visas and others
are Homestay organisations, so not all Members have responded:
1. "We have reported 24 students last year
(some acknowledged by IND, some not)."
2. "Examples of abuse of the immigration
control system for students eg bogus colleges in which students
are able to obtain documents to come and study for courses in
the UK which don't exist. We have had instances in the past of
people registering for courses, gaining acceptance documents and
then not attending. It is often difficult for us to know in those
circumstances whether they have just changed their minds, plan
to come at a later point, have entered the country but chosen
to go to a different school, or have entered the country but are
not studying. In one instance, where we had successive Malaysian
students apply to come to the school and then not attend, we sought
to alert the authorities on more than one occasion to our concerns,
only to be advised (unofficially) that nobody was interested unless
it was major crime or terrorism related. Hopefully, this situation
has now changed. We should harness the support of schools. Clear
guidelines to schools on when they should contact the authorities
and a sense that there is genuine interest when they do would
definitely help. A direct line, and/or local point of contact,
would also help."
3. "As of September 2005 we have reported
approximately 10 students"
4. "We have seen flagrant abuse by an agent
in Russia—photocopying a student invitation with a piece
of paper containing different names laid over the genuine name
(it was so obvious but not picked up by the embassy). Students
for whom this invitation was used were 100% bona fide and had
a free trip being hosted, entertained and attending a state secondary
school in Surrey. (We found out by accident.) However, we had
concerns about the principle, so we informed the Home Office."
5. "We have had a few enquiries from Russia
and I have always made it very clear that we would retain £150
administration charge, if they do not get the visa and this usually
stops the whole process, in other words, we do not even get as
far as the booking stage."
6. "I reported a Brazilian girl who was
vulnerable (19 years old, very pretty and living, drugged to the
eyebrows, in a hostel in London full of very dubious South Americans).
No action was taken, although I spoke to various people at the
Home Office and wrote as well. One of my other Brazilians, then
"legal" managed to ensure that she got home safely,
but only after many months had passed. I reported two others last
year (one Colombian, one Turkish), but got the equivalent of a
verbal shrug."
7. "I am very pleased that at last this
matter is being looked into as it badly reflects on the whole
industry. We reported 13 students last year. We have refused to
accept some student applications as they have insufficient attendance
elsewhere but have later heard that they have been enrolled at
another school. We hear all the time of schools which issue false
attendance letters, either they have falsified the attendance
of their current students or, they issue "backdated"
letters saying a student has studied with them, when in fact they
either haven't been studying at all or studied elsewhere but didn't
have sufficient attendance. I have also heard of employees of
schools, selling acceptance letters and putting a student on a
school database until a visa is received and then taking the student
off unbeknown to the owner of the school. Also that on the condition
that a student re-enrols at a school, the student is "given"
sufficient attendance to do so. Some of these are accredited schools.
The problem as I see it is a conspiracy of silence, ie those to
whom these false documents are issued are not going to inform
on themselves. It is difficult to obtain documentary evidence
as a third party. I have done so and reported it to the authorities
but as yet to little effect. In the light of this it is difficult
for schools attempt to stop the abuse in other schools. I do not
know the extent of the abuse. I hear it is extensive and it seems
to be well-known which schools act in this way. Prospective students
are aware through chatrooms etc of those schools that abuse the
system. If the Home Office were to look at these I am sure they
would find the information they require. It would also help if
the Home Office gave clear instructions as to the obligations
of all institutions (accredited or not) to report students. At
present information on this matter is very difficult to find on
the Home Office website. One eventually finds a small amount of
information pertaining to schools and that it is not obligatory
to report but "helpful". To discourage false applications
when a prospective student's visa is refused, in certain cases
we don't make refunds. It is an expensive action for us as prospective
students are aware through chatrooms etc of the fact that we are
very strict on attendance and that if a visa is refused for certain
reasons we don't make refunds. It would be easier and cheaper
for us to refund all failed applications, however this is one
method to discourage false applications. One way abuse could be
countered is that the DFES checks actual attendance records against
those stated in visa application forms. These days we always send
a signed copy of the invitation to the relevant embassy and ask
them to check against the visa applications in our name and have
had no further evidence of abuse."
8. "We advised the Home Office of three
students who failed to attend classes last year. With regard to
abuse of the system I wrote to the Home Office as long ago as
1994 with the following view: Where a college is charging what
appear to be unrealistically low fees (this of course begs the
key question—what are `low' fees?)— This can only
be possible with extremely high enrolment, that is, large classes.
It should be possible by spot-checking the attendance registers
to see whether students are in fact attending in such numbers
particularly in relation to the SIZE of classrooms available for
those numbers. In simple terms—if a school claims it can
afford to charge low fees by having 30+ students per class for
example, it is not impossible to verify that physically the room/rooms
make this possible."
9. "We reported 3 students who did not attend
ACCA course last year."
10. "We have a case currently of a Russian
student, who should have started this month but has not come.
She is currently in Russia and we have asked her to return the
letter offering her a place. Then we will inform the Home Office
of what has happened. I will keep you informed."
11. "I suggest the formula of one warning
and then "name and shame"!"
12. "I think that the system needs to be
tightened up considerably. All our member schools advise when
a student goes missing, but often don't hear anything more as
to what has been done. I think there needs to be a better communication
system between the schools and the authorities. Dedicated helplines
would be a start as often we don't know which Department to go
to, and we are passed from pillar to post. A major loophole in
my opinion is that overseas organisations could purchase an English
Language School and use it to bring illegal immigrants into the
country."
13. "Some time ago we had a Mexican lady
whom we were not convinced was planning to leave the country after
her course. She would give no details of her return flight and
became unusually aggressive when asked. We reported the case,
and we were assured that she did leave on the prescribed day."
14. "It would be much better if students
had a stamp with their student visa actually naming the school
that they are supposed to be attending; it might make it a bit
easier for the Home Office and schools to track them as well,
especially as at the moment students can change schools quite
freely without notifying the HO."
15. "We report on average 20 students a
year who have failed to report for a term. (Sometimes these students
have gone to another school without informing us.) We see false
passports which have easily been obtained. Students often work
more than the 20 hours a week permitted. The Immigration system
is abused by the issue of Tourist Visas with people overstaying—sadly
ID cards may be the answer to this."
Mrs Joanne Adcock
Association Secretary
16 February 2006
| 
