Migration Help
24th March 2010, 12:01 AM
A SYDNEY cookery college that was once one of Australia's fastest growing companies has gone into voluntary liquidation.
Students at the Austech Institute for Further Education apparently received the news via e-mail after evening class last Friday.
Police were on hand on Monday as dozens of students converged on Austech's Ashfield campus to protest the decision and seek information about transferring to new colleges.
A number of students said they had been offered discounts of as much as 10 per cent on this semester's tuition if they paid in advance. Amandeep Singh, 24, said he had received a $400 reduction in his tuition after paying $4,600 in January.
Vikas Kumar, 25, was six months into studying for an advanced diploma in hospitality management.
He said he had paid $5,000 this semester, as well as $15,000 towards the cost of a diploma.
The cost was covered by his parents, who were farmers from Haryana in India's North. His parents' savings covered half of his fees; the rest came from a bank loan.
"I'm very upset,'' he said. "[They spent] 10 years' savings on my study and [now] it's all finished''.
The college, founded in 2002 with 10 students in Blacktown by a former taxi driver, had a history of rapid expansion.
By 2007-08 it had a $30.4 million turnover and was profiled by BRW magazine as one of Australia's 100 fastest growing companies. Austech had 1398 students in late 2008.
From 2005-2008 a qualification in cookery or hairdressing "virtually guaranteed'' a permanent residency visa, according to Monash University researcher Bob Birrell. Skilled migration rules have since been tightened up, putting the business model of many private colleges under severe pressure.
A 2008 audit by state regulators found Austech in breach of state and federal standards: it did not have enough kitchens for its 1622 current and 571 pending students, and some students had been enrolled for more than a year before they were given any practical kitchen experience, according to a decision by the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal.
The regulator, the Vocational Education Training Accreditation Board, ordered the college to refund $2.1million in fees to 350-odd new students but this edict was put on hold in January 2009 by the tribunal, which gave Austech a second chance.
Eight months later, VETAB moved to cancel Austech's registration, citing its failure to comply with national training standards, but the college launched another successful appeal.
On Christmas Eve, the tribunal ruled in favour of Austech, saying that although the college had expanded without permission, VETAB had been "fully aware'' of this since 2006 yet had taken no action until December 2008.
The tribunal approved expansion plans for the college.
In a statement on Monday, Austech's chief executive Kharak Bajwa said the "unresponsive, slow and adversarial behaviour '' of VETAB had contributed to the collapse. "One can win a case but still lose,'' he said.
He also blamed bad publicity about attacks on Indian students and changes to migration rules.
"The vocational education and training system is in turmoil at the moment,'' he said.
A spokesman for federal education minister Julia Gillard said the students would not be left without options.
They would be found placement in similar courses under the Tuition Assurance Scheme, or refunded their unused course fees through the Education Services for Overseas Students Assurance Fund, the spokesman said.
SOURCE (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/sydney-cookery-college-closes-its-doors/story-e6frgcjx-1225844396440)
MH
Students at the Austech Institute for Further Education apparently received the news via e-mail after evening class last Friday.
Police were on hand on Monday as dozens of students converged on Austech's Ashfield campus to protest the decision and seek information about transferring to new colleges.
A number of students said they had been offered discounts of as much as 10 per cent on this semester's tuition if they paid in advance. Amandeep Singh, 24, said he had received a $400 reduction in his tuition after paying $4,600 in January.
Vikas Kumar, 25, was six months into studying for an advanced diploma in hospitality management.
He said he had paid $5,000 this semester, as well as $15,000 towards the cost of a diploma.
The cost was covered by his parents, who were farmers from Haryana in India's North. His parents' savings covered half of his fees; the rest came from a bank loan.
"I'm very upset,'' he said. "[They spent] 10 years' savings on my study and [now] it's all finished''.
The college, founded in 2002 with 10 students in Blacktown by a former taxi driver, had a history of rapid expansion.
By 2007-08 it had a $30.4 million turnover and was profiled by BRW magazine as one of Australia's 100 fastest growing companies. Austech had 1398 students in late 2008.
From 2005-2008 a qualification in cookery or hairdressing "virtually guaranteed'' a permanent residency visa, according to Monash University researcher Bob Birrell. Skilled migration rules have since been tightened up, putting the business model of many private colleges under severe pressure.
A 2008 audit by state regulators found Austech in breach of state and federal standards: it did not have enough kitchens for its 1622 current and 571 pending students, and some students had been enrolled for more than a year before they were given any practical kitchen experience, according to a decision by the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal.
The regulator, the Vocational Education Training Accreditation Board, ordered the college to refund $2.1million in fees to 350-odd new students but this edict was put on hold in January 2009 by the tribunal, which gave Austech a second chance.
Eight months later, VETAB moved to cancel Austech's registration, citing its failure to comply with national training standards, but the college launched another successful appeal.
On Christmas Eve, the tribunal ruled in favour of Austech, saying that although the college had expanded without permission, VETAB had been "fully aware'' of this since 2006 yet had taken no action until December 2008.
The tribunal approved expansion plans for the college.
In a statement on Monday, Austech's chief executive Kharak Bajwa said the "unresponsive, slow and adversarial behaviour '' of VETAB had contributed to the collapse. "One can win a case but still lose,'' he said.
He also blamed bad publicity about attacks on Indian students and changes to migration rules.
"The vocational education and training system is in turmoil at the moment,'' he said.
A spokesman for federal education minister Julia Gillard said the students would not be left without options.
They would be found placement in similar courses under the Tuition Assurance Scheme, or refunded their unused course fees through the Education Services for Overseas Students Assurance Fund, the spokesman said.
SOURCE (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/sydney-cookery-college-closes-its-doors/story-e6frgcjx-1225844396440)
MH