Once upon a time I was a post-doc at University College Cardiff which has a Royal Charter dating from 1883 and which was part of the University of Wales, Cardiff until 2004 when it became Cardiff University. I have fond memories of Cardiff since it was with Cardiff as a base that my colleagues ensured my education on the finer points of rugby and Welsh pubs and Dylan Thomas and rugby songs. So it was a matter of some regret for me to hear that the current University of Wales was to be abolished because of wrong-doings at one of its accredited colleges.
The University of Wales was a federal university founded in 1893 with accredited institutions throughout Wales, including the universities of Glyndŵr, Newport, Swansea Metropolitan and Trinity Saint David. It accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students but following a visa fraud at one of its accredited colleges, Rayat London College, it no longer exists. At the time of its closure, the Chancellor of the University of Wales was HRH the Prince of Wales and the Pro-Chancellor was the Archbishop of Wales, Dr. Barry Morgan. Professor Marc Clement was President and the Vice-Chancellor was Professor Medwin Hughes.
It is not the first time that the techniques of academic cheating and fake degrees have been found to have been exported from India to colleges around the world.
THES:The Rayat London College which offered courses validated by the University of Wales has been linked to an alleged scam that helped foreign students to cheat their way to qualifications. The BBC found a lecturer from Rayat College London explaining to students how to cheat in exams and how to deceive the UK Border Agency. …. The scam would have allowed students to complete a 15-month course in under a week by cheating in exams. …. The college has suspended a lecturer, registrar and admissions officer, and said it dissociated itself from any wrongdoing and had referred the matter to the police.
A scam exposed by BBC Wales in which overseas students are helped to cheat their way to University of Wales-validated degrees and visas is being investigated by the UK Border Agency. Students are sold diplomas exempting them from work for MBAs, which then entitles them to apply for a UK visa. Two staff at Rayat London College have been suspended and the registrar has resigned.
The University of Wales would not comment on the scam allegations. Earlier this week it said it is to stop validating other institutions’ degrees.
UK Immigration Minister Damian Green said: “It’s fraud – it’s clearly trying to create and exploit a loophole in the immigration system.
But as a consequence of the scam the University of Wales has ceased to exist as it is merged with two other institutions to continue under the Charter of Trinity St David:
The University of Wales (UoW) says its merger with two colleges is the “start of a new beginning” for the scandal-hit institution. The 120-year old university is in effect being abolished after BBC Wales’ investigations raised questions about its scrutiny of partner colleges. Vice-chancellor Medwin Hughes said the new organisation was a “strong brand” that ensured UoW’s name would continue.
UoW council chairman Hugh Thomas resigned after the merger decision.
The chair of the council of the University of Wales has stepped down after the education minister called for him to consider his position. The scandal-hit institution also announced today that when it merges with Trinity Saint David and Swansea Metropolitan University, it will come together under the former’s charter, not that of the University of Wales.
There have been calls from Welsh vice-chancellors for the institution to be wound up after a BBC investigation uncovered a visa scam at a linked college. The Quality Assurance Agency has also found failings in the university’s scrutiny of international partners.
However, D. Hugh Thomas, chair of the university’s council, said that he had stepped down as a result of the decision over the charter, and not because of a call by Leighton Andrews, the Welsh education secretary, for him to consider his position.
Britain’s immigration officers have launched an investigation after an Indo-British lecturer at a college was covertly filmed advising students how to cheat at MBA exams and exploit loopholes to obtain visas. Lecturer Surya Medicherla was filmed giving students tips on how to cheat in exams and how to deceive the UK Border Agency (UKBA) at the Rayat London College, whose degrees are validated by the University of Wales.
A BBC undercover investigation showed Medicherla warning students not to be complacent about the UKBA while completing degree formalities before applying for the Post-Study Work (PSW) visa, which is to be phased out from April 2012.
Tags: Rayat College London, Surya Medicherla, University of Wales, visa scam
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