UK: Newcastle excludes 50 foreign students for forgery

Newcastle University has excluded 50 foreign students it believes used forged certificates to enhance their applications, reports The Telegraph. Most are suspected of submitting bogus English qualifications to increase their chances of being accepted. The university said it believed other institutions could be affected and urged increased vigilance.

Of the 50 undergraduate and postgraduate students excluded, 49 came from China and one from Taiwan. Newcastle launched an investigation when some of the students failed English language assessments. It said it regretted having to exclude the students because many of them appeared to be victims of bogus 'agents', based either in China or Britain, who were paid to submit applications, including supporting documents, on their behalf.

The forgeries were of such high quality they could not have been detected by usual checks, said the university, which has informed the Home Office and the police of the results of its investigations.
Full report on The Telegraph site