As many as 7 International English Language Testing Systems (IELTS) exam centers in Gujarat have come under police radar after an investigation began into the irregularities of the testing and control system that prevented unqualified students from passing the exam. At least 950 students are believed to have achieved high IELTS scores this year by paying Rs 14 lakh each. All of these students are now either in the US or Canada.
The investigation by the Mehsana police has revealed discrepancies in the IELTS centers in Rajkot, Vadodara, Mehsana, Ahmedabad, Navsari, Nadiad and Anand, a leading daily reported. According to the sources, the first case of such an irregularity came to light in April when a dummy student was caught taking the exam in Nadiad. It was later reported that two centers in Navsari and Mehsana had turned off their CCTV cameras to accommodate dummy candidates to take exams.
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In March of this year, six Gujarat youths, aged 19-21, were detained by US border authorities from the Saint Regis River in Akwesasne, US, when they tried to cross from Canada.
When these youths were brought before a US court, authorities were surprised that they did not speak good English, despite their IELTS score being between 6.5-7, which is considered very high and suitable for entry into the US and Canada. After this, the Mehsana police will start an investigation into the case at the request of the American consulate.
Police sources reveal that a real estate businessman from Mehsana is running this scam. A police officer said this racket of issuing false IELTS certificates to aspirants from the US and Canada has been going on for about five years. The candidates are given a high score IELTS certificate promised by the agents of these scammers in exchange for Rs 14 lakh.
However, this is not the first time such fraudulent activity involving false foreign entry permits has surfaced. About 600 cases of fraud were discovered a month ago by the Australian Department of the Interior in which false documents related to students’ educational qualifications were found attached to other documents. The majority of these cases were from Haryana and some from Punjab.
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