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"Please do something. We need help. I hope the embassy helps us. We have invested our money, home and careers in this. The situation here is grave."
This is the plea of one of the Indian students stranded in the picturesque Isle of Man in the United Kingdom, post the sudden closure of the IHMES International Hotel School, a renowned hospitality institution, on April 24.
As many as 80 Indian students, most of them from Mumbai, were left high and dry by this institution that ceased functioning when Alan Glass, its director, declared himself bankrupt.
When contacted, some of these students told rediff.com that they were being mistreated and intimidated by the college authorities.
"They are shouting at us. They are downright rude with us. When we ask for our academic transcripts, they snap back at us saying they have lots of other work to do," said one student.
Apart from them, the students of 2006 batch, now posted as internees at various hotels in the UK, are now in a tight spot as none of the hotels in the UK are allowing them to continue with their internships, since their college has shut down.
As of now, there are 80 students from the July 2006 batch who are doing internships and close to 40 of them have been sent back.
The college used to take in students on a quarterly basis every year.
"Yesterday, we were not given food by the college authorities. Our plight is worse as the college authorities are very rude with us and are asking us why we have come back. What else were we supposed to do?" asks a student who was forced to discontinue his internship.
Their visas will expire in 21 days and the college authorities reportedly have decided to keep these students at bay so that they could be packed back to India minus their degree, certificate and a sound future.
"They are not giving us our transcripts and they have given May 16 as the deadline for joining a new college. No college will give admit any student without their transcripts. Basically, we have no clue what these people have in their minds," said another Indian student.
The IHMES authorities and their Indian agent, Agarwal Overseas Education Service, based in Mumbai, Delhi, Thane and Pune are trying to wash their hands of this uncomfortable situation.
The students appeared scared and concerned; most of them were hesitant to scrap on Orkut and insisted chatting on Google or Yahoo, which they felt is more private and secure. They also refused to reveal their identities.
"Don't do that dude. We are still here among these guys," said one of them.
The IHMES authorities, apparently, have asked the students to cough up extra money and enroll at St Patrick's College in London, which also offers hospitality courses.
An IHMES student told rediff.com that students who were admitted in the January batch at IHMES will have to pay 2,500 pounds, and those students who were doing their internship when the college washed its hands of them would be required to pay close to 1,000 pounds or more.
"This is impossible. No one will be able to pay this amount. It's huge. Plus they seem to have no intention of refunding the money we already paid in the first place," said another Indian student.
One of the students spoke about a Korean girl who got admitted after paying 8,200 pounds on April 23 and was shell shocked when she got to know about the closure the very next day.
Shashi Agarwal, president, Agarwal Overseas Education Service, told rediff.com that he is doing everything possible to ensure the wellbeing of the students.
"We are terribly upset thinking about our poor students. This is an unfortunate incident. Who could have predicted that such a reputed institution would suddenly close down? We will do everything possible to help those poor kids," said Mr and Mrs Agarwal in unison at their air-conditioned office in West Mulund, Mumbai.
But an Indian student's comment painted a contrasting picture. "They just want to make money and nothing else. He apparently sent about eight to 10 students here even after knowing that the college is closing down. Fortunately the London immigration officials sent them back and they had a narrow escape. My room-mate called him last night and he had the nerve to say that nothing is going to happen and everything will be fine."
A source at the British Council told rediff.com that since it is a private institution and since lots of bodies like the British Accreditation Council, EdExcel, the exam board and UKCosa, which deal with international students, are involved, it might take some time to sort out the muddle.
'The Department of Education has been notified and IHMES has been removed from the list of approved institutions. The UK immigration authorities have also been informed and it is hoped that they would be as sympathetic as possible,' stated an official statement from the British Council, New Delhi.