If you didn't notice, I have a soft spot for stories about impostor students (it made my Top 10 Biggest Stories of 2007). But what do I think about an impostor school?
The BBC has uncovered a scam that targets foreign students flocking to London to attend the bogus Irish International University. The unaccredited "school" has 5,000 "students" worldwide and thousands of "graduates." While the institution claims to be a "university"—a title that needs to be approved by the government—the Irish Department of Education and Science says it has never given permission to the IIU to use the label. Furthermore, the IIU's elaborate website had boasted it was accredited and quality controlled by a company in North London—a company that happened to be owned by the school's "boss."
Tack on the award ceremonies staged at Oxford and Cambridge (a successful ploy, considering IIU's seven-year run)—and you've got yourself a bona fide educational scandal, ready for prime-time TV.
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of PA 11:06PM October 10, 2008
Angela Saini, BBC Reporter of MA 9:02AM April 24, 2008
Anthony 9:11AM February 28, 2008