Oz closes college with over 450 India students

Melbourne: Careers of over 450 Indian students in Australia has been jeopardised following closure of an Adelaide-based college after it failed audits of the government on standards of education it was offering.

The South Australian Government cancelled the registration of the Adelaide Pacific International College (APIC) which failed audits this year.

State Education Minister Jack Snelling told Parliament that the APIC in Currie Street is no longer registered to operate. The college has as many as 450 students who had come to Adelaide from India.

Its registration will be cancelled from June 28 when it will be removed from the National Training Information Service. The college has 28 days to appeal against the decision.

The college breached 12 of 14 national standards, Snelling told parliament, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Snelling said every effort would be made to place its students in alternative colleges or in TAFE courses.

"I have repeatedly stated students' welfare is a paramount concern and all available steps will be taken," the minister said.

Snelling said he had spoken with Indian Consul-General Amit Dasgupta and president of the local Indian association Major-General Vikram Madan to advise them of the decision.

He said students would be provided with written advice on their rights and obligations through the South Australian Training Advocate.

Problems with the college, which offered courses in community services work, aged care, business management, automotive studies and security, were first raised in May after a state government audit in March.

At the time, management said it had been a victim of fraud and turned the matter over to police. But Snelling said the response from the college had been considered and it remained critically non-compliant.

The audit found the college had failed to adequately monitor student progress and attendance, and had failed to provide quality training and assessment to maximise outcomes for its clients.

APIC said recently police was also investigating alleged fraud by a former senior employee. Indian students are the second largest group of foreign students in Australian after those from China. Over one lakh Indian students are enrolled in different colleges in the country.

Australia's Education Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard last year said that the government is acting on the problems facing international students studying in Australia.