Parents and students have been taken for a ride by the business companies that claim for foreign accreditation and international recognition, charging large sums of money without providing quality education, according to Prof. Colin N. Peiris & Jayantha L. Ratnasekera. They further stated that according to the Police Fraud Bureau, more than 50 complaints are received annually regarding the private Higher Education Institutes. Majority of the complaints filed at the Police Fraud Bureau indicates that the bogus institutions that have defrauded students of millions of rupees have all claimed to be internationally recognized, and had advertised themselves as being affiliated to various foreign universities.
Though some of the private HEIs are having necessary physical infrastructure as well as the qualified and experienced staff, majority of such institutions do not possess with the basic physical and human resources. Even in the case of actual foreign university affiliations, the poor quality education provided results in many students failing examinations and finally abandoning the courses after paying a large sum of money. Furthermore, some institutions offer degrees with a very limited formal study. For example, a general degree is offered within a period of six months and a special (honours) degree is offered within a period of one year where the student attendance is not compulsory.
With this situation students and parents should be careful in choosing their Higher Education Programs.
Upload the full paper Students Taken for a Ride: Sri Lankan Example by Colin N. Peiris & Jayantha L. Ratnasekera (Presented at the 3rd APQN AGM & Conference 5-7 Feb 2007, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia)
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