UK to probe Indian students’ deportation
Saturday, 16/04/2016
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
LONDON: A British parliamentary panel has launched an inquiry after an immigration tribunal ruled as unlawful the deportation of nearly 48,000 non-EU students — mostly Indians — for allegedly passing a mandatory English language test fraudulently.
In a damning ruling in March, the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) allowed an appeal by two students accused of cheating in the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) conducted by a subsidiary of US-based ETS.
Senior Labour MP Keith Vaz, who chairs the home affairs committee of parliament, called it a “devastating verdict” and told the Home Office at a hearing on Tuesday that an inquiry had been opened into the issue that led to thousands of innocent individuals being branded as cheats and deported.
It began in February 2014, when a sting operation by BBC’s Panorama programme uncovered cheating, including the use of proxies, and invigilators at a London centre providing answers.
The Home Office claimed its own probe after the programme had revealed 46,000 invalid and questionable tests conducted by ETS, and suspended the company.
It revoked the sponsorship licence of 60 institutions and detained or removed non-EU students who had obtained the TOEIC certificate. Harsev Bains of the Indian Workers Association told HT: “The biggest disappointment was this was not briefed or highlighted to PM Narendra Modi during his (November) visit. I hope the students will be adequately compensated.”
