Church to aid overseas students

(June 16, 2011) The Syro-Malabar Church Laity Commission in the southern state of Kerala is to introduce three help centres to prevent large numbers of students seeking admissions in overseas universities being cheated, an official said on Tuesday. The Commission is to set up centres in India’s Kerala State, in New Zealand and in Singapore, said V.C. Sebastian, secretary of the laity commission. The help centres will provide information on visa regulations and job opportunities overseas. “We found many students, especially in New Zealand and Singapore, had been duped by private agencies who offer consultancy services for migration on student visas,” Sebastian said. In many countries “sham” universities also offer courses with a work permit to dupe students. He said that they have information that many students have been duped by the universities and lost a large amount of money. Krishna Kumar, an educational consultant, claimed many of these sham universities are sprouting up in New Zealand and Singapore. In Kerala, studying in foreign universities is a status symbol and around 10,000 students seek admission to various overseas institutions.