We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Updated: 18.48
STUDENTS HAVE HELD a vigil outside the closed doors of Shelbourne College in Dublin this morning following the revelation that they could be owed up to €500,000 from the college.
RTÉ reports that the private college, which closed its doors last November, is alleged to owe over half a million euro to international students from India, Nepal, Malawi, Bangladesh and other developing countries.
Many students paid out fees of between €4,000 and €5,000.
Dave Moore from the Irish Council for Overseas Students (ICOS) joined some of the college’s students at the vigil at 11am outside the deserted college building on Dublin’s Camden Street.
Today it emerged that the college has applied for voluntary liquidation. The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) has said the college will be “immediately removed from the Internationalisation Register”, which means that no immigration permission will be issued in respect of it.
In a statement released this evening, INIS said it is “aware of allegations that the college has failed to refund monies due to certain students whose visa applications were refused”.
“While INIS cannot comment on specific allegations regarding refund of fees it is understood that some funds remain outstanding and the affected students should continue to pursue this issue with the college.
INIS has previously put Shelbourne College on notice requiring that confirmation be provided that students entitled to a refund had received that refund as required under the immigration rules and in accordance with the college’s refund policy. INIS has pursued this matter with the management of the college since this issue came to its attention. INIS will be in further contact with the appropriate Garda authorities in relation to this matter.
The council said that arrangements for students affected by the closure of the college will soon be available online. Students currently residing in Ireland should visit the INIS’s site, while others should contact the Non-EEA Student Taskforce.
Not re-opening
Moore said today was the proposed date set for the re-opening of the school in another location.
Students in Ireland were promised in November that the college would re-open on this date. Since then, all evidence has pointed to the contrary – but today is a final reckoning with the realities.
Here we are on the 12th of January outside a deserted building. The staff have heard nothing to follow up on the promises, the students have heard nothing to follow up on the promises.
Moore said upwards of 150 students have been affected.
Moore said that all of those affected are hoping Irish authorities will pursue an urgent answer and “bring some justice to this terrible situation”.
“To make sure this type of situation can never happen again, ICOS reiterates the need for escrow arrangements for up-front student fees to protect visa applicants for private colleges.”
Suffering
Faith Chitosnga arrived in Ireland from Malawi four months ago to study social healthcare management. Her parents had save for years to pay about €3,500 in fees.
Along with other students present at the vigil, she called for the Government to step in. She had one message for the managers of the college, who have been uncontactable since November:
Please, wherever you’re hiding, we need that money. We suffered to raise that money. You can’t just take our money and go – it’s not fair. Wherever you are, please give us back our money, we’re suffering.
Despite what’s happened, she said she is “very hopeful” her money will be refunded.
Nabin Shahi, who is representing 23 of the Nepalese students affected, does not share her optimism.
He ran a company that helped students travel to Ireland to study. He said the students he is working on behalf of are collectively owed €91,850.
“Each and every day they ask me when will I get the money, but I don’t have an answer … I’m not hopeful.”
Additional reporting: Christina Finn
Originally published: 9.36
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
The assets of the Directors of this college should be sold and the proceeds used to refund these students.
Is this an English language college? The standard of english, grammar and punctuation in that letter is atrocious.
Yes this should be the system so that other would not dare to cheat…..
To many of these fly by night language schools going bust or just closing down owing money to students. Safeguards have to be put in place for people.
Having an ex-government Minister on the board of one institute would’ve been very re-assuring no doubt. What is Batt O’Keeffe doing these days anyway?
How did they pay for these fees? Shouldn’t they be protected against breach of contract failure to provide services by their credit card provider… Section 75 of the consumer credit act in the UK. I believe Ireland is similar.
Even if they are, and are therefore owed money, that doesn’t change the order in which you’re required to pay off your creditors when you go bust.
There’s now a yawning gap in Irish Market for robustly funded and professionally managed English Language Colleges.
It’s very obvious, based on recent media articles ( citing negative experiences of students) that a large demand exists from folks around the world wishing to travel here to learn the language. And the fees mentioned above mean a viable business should be possible.
But why so many college closures? Is it underfunding in those business; abuse of procedures regarding visas; poor management; inadequate Government Regulation of the sector. Probably a dollop of each.
Whatever…it needs sorting as those Foreign earnings and teaching jobs are gold dust to a recovering economy.
Teachers, Facilities, Start-up capital are all plentiful in Ireland. So what’s the problem?
A serious business opportunity awaits the Entrepreneur here; one that is not dependent on advance payment of student fees as working capital to finance his or her business.
Currently accepted practices in the sector will sully Ireland’s reputation abroad. What’s allowed happen to those innocent students is a scandal and the Government needs to step in with the fixes, pronto.
The Escrow account suggestion is a good one and whatever new college adopts such safe and fair college fee payment practices should do very well indeed.
To be honest Rory most people know that they were sham colleges used by foreign students to get around our visa process.
Spot on John Gleeson-and now that there is a new Quango to regulate them-they are disappearing faster than rats from a sinking ship.
John/Rory J. There are many reputable, well-run English Language/Business oriented privately-run colleges in Ireland. ECM in Dublin is one such entrepreneurial run college that many Brazilian, Indian and Nepalese attend/have attended and graduated from with successful, properly accredited courses. (I have no affiliation to ECM, other than in the course of my helping some Indian friends’ children research colleges here and in the UK). Please don’t tar all with the same brush. The kollege in the article was run by an Indian gent, with education as its last priority I believe.
Yes I agree they’re not all the same, my aupair attends ECM college and her friend attends CES college. They love it in Dublin and they say the standards are high for English language teaching
I thought that only pro-life activists had a monopoly on having a “vigil”? – surely everybody else has to make do with having a “protest”.
Yes something seriously wrong here. The pattern seems to be to exploit these people.
I suggest contact the fraud squad.
Publish all the names addresses of directors and teachers too. The teachers must know the story.
This is a shame. Who is the director of company? ??? I’m willing to bet he is not Irish and that he is not here or won’t be here to face the music. Under company law as a director is not personally responsible for discharging debts. I really doubt there is anything of value left and he himself left with bags full of cash.
the state should pay back the students. Then change the law to make directors personally responsible for this.
As a company director he/she/they are most certainly NOT personally responsible for discharging debts. That’s the whole reason for setting up a Limited Company – your exposure is limited to whatever you have put into the company.
I searched the Companies Registration Office for a Shelbourne College without success, it contains all past and current companies registered in Ireland. I also checked through Irish trade marks, still nothing. However, found a listing for the college on a foreign website where it’s listed as a “university”. It had a massive 202,000 Facebook likes.
Was it really a limited company registered in Ireland?
http://www.university-directory.eu/Ireland/Shelbourne-College–Dublin.html#.VLQcCO1FDqA
They are from the pakistan… and only they can dare….. not human….. smth else….
This is very common in the U.K. and in the U.K. setting up Colleges is a scam to comm people out of their money.
can work both ways, they both get something out of it. outstay their welcome and don’t attend classes, paying to stay. if you take up a course and half way through, this happens. they can’t expect all of their fees back? and what about those without the correct visas? risky business. they might think twice now.
I do not know, the bigger the crowd then the more versatile the people in the crowd.
How about the guards apply the same vigor in chasing this college as they do forcing water meters. I doubt anything will come of this, it’s no better than straightforward theft. The guards probably to busy to deal with it.
You do realise that Irish water doesn’t have to be raised in every journal article, don’t you? Hope he students get their money back
You’d like nothing better than people to forget about it. Not going to happen and who appointed you the journal censor?
I don’t know much about this individual college so I cannot make any statement on how they run their business.
However, most of these types of colleges have been in a limbo since September of last year when the changes were announced for the courses that would be acceptable for immigration purposes. Most would not have recruited for a January intake and therefore are likely to have run into cash-flow difficulties. Even if you plan your business very well you cannot account for a rapid change to the rules which left many of these colleges unable to comply with the new rules even if they wanted to.
The applications for re-recognition under the Irish qualifications rather than the UK qualifications could never have been completed in the time-frame allowed in the announcement, and the lack of certainty this has left was always going to cause a significant number of these colleges to go out of business irrespective of how well run they were. The gap that the QQI/INIS have left by not handling the change-over has meant that cash flow for the vast majority of these Colleges likely stopped dead by November.
Report coming from the High Court
“High Court has declared new Dept of Justice regulations for language schools illegal. Rules would have forced closure of many schools.”
Just checked their last accounts (June 2013). At that stage the Directors had pumped €75,000 into the business, so it doesn’t look like they are getting away unhurt.
So why has this article not named the owners. Typical irish journalism to protect our own. If they are negligent name them.
Let’s be clear. SOME of the EFL schools were acting as visa factories. In fact, some of them were at it for as long as five years. During this time the GNIB (Garda Nationalisation and Immigration Bureau), the Department of Education, the AQAI (Association for Quality and Assurance Ireland -I may have that name wrong), and where relevant ACELS, all of them government quangos never once carried out an inspection. Some of the schools that have now closed never even held classes.
In the end it was because they got greedy and sold visas to students who actually wanted to study that led to their downfall. It wasn’t the Irish authorities who caught them, the students had to tell them they’d paid money for courses they weren’t getting. Currently the government is enacting knee-jerk legislation to the situation, insisting that all international schools meet absurd new regulations because -let me remind you again- our own government bodies weren’t doing their jobs for 4-5 years.
Stop with the blaming the victims simply because you’re a racist bigot, and place the blame where it belongs…with the owners of the schools, and the irish government. Their new regulations for international schools (introduced and expected to be complied with in 3 months, even by schools that were completely compliant in October) are an absurd reaction when what they should be doing is telling all of their quangos to justify their existence by doing something ridiculous like…I don’t know…their jobs.
have your say