Just 44% of Indian student visa applications assessed since January were accepted, figures from Immigration New Zealand reveal, with fraud given as one of the reasons for the high refusal rate.
Stakeholders have said the investigation blows the cover off an "open secret" of Indian agents falsifying bank statements and universities not verifying loan letters, with nearly 60 education agents in Hyderabad found to have submitted fraudulent loan documents.
A panel of education agents from Italy, Spain and Germany said at the Eaquals conference last week that the internet has changed how they recruit and the relationship they have with schools.
Speaking with The PIE News, agents in Brazil have voiced their concern following the announcement of a new tax on overseas payments that will include tuition and accommodation fees, which they say will raise the cost of study abroad for Brazilian students.
The Australian government is funding a major research and scoping project into a quality framework for education agencies, marking a substantive push forward towards a possible accreditation or ratings system. A steering committee with cross-departmental government membership is being led by IEAA.
After a year that has placed a number of obstacles in the way of outbound study, including a steadily declining rouble, strong foreign currency rates and visa delays, Russian agents are now suffering the effects of December’s rouble crash.
A British Council-backed survey of university processes for managing education agent relationships has revealed insufficient safeguarding and training built into the relationship, and the report's authors warn that improved self-regulation is essential to avoid government intervention.
There is “no question that suspect and outright fraudulent practice exists” among some agents, but there is an indisputable need for agents in international education, a report by the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education (OBHE) has concluded.