Tough economic times are blamed for forcing yet another private college to shut its doors leaving hundreds of students high and dry.

This closure adds to a long list of others causing chaos for our multi-million-dollar education industry.

Amy Hutchinson reports.

TRANSCRIPT

HHH International College closed its doors this week leaving a reported three hundred and fifty international students with few options.

Administrators S and V Group confirmed it’s a culmination of internal and external factors, from unpaid taxes to high overhead costs, the state of the Australian dollar and nd Government policies.

Dr Bruce Flegg says it’s a worrying trend.

Bruce Flegg, Qld Shadow Minister for Education: “Look I think we should be very sympathetic to the plight of students. These are people that have come to Australia, paid a lot of money and come in good faith and have really been let down by the failures of our system.”

HHH International College is the fifth international private college to fold in the past year and is now in receivership. The Australian Council for Private Education and Training will try to allocate affected students to different schools.

The National Union of Students is concerned private colleges aren’t secure for vulnerable international students.

Rosa Sottile, Qld Branch President NUS: “They don’t have any avenue of recourse either because of the way that under John Howard our education system was deregulated. So basically what happens when their colleges close down is either the Government steps in and helps them or they’re stuck and they’ve lost a lot of money.”

Calling for the Government to introduce tougher regulations.

Rosa Sottile, Qld Branch President NUS: “I think it’s a really big problem and i think the government needs to step up and make sure these colleges are really top quality educational institutions.”

The Australian College for Private Education and Training is expected to organise a meeting to discuss ex-HHH students’ options soon.

Amy Hutchinson, QUT News.