''Lower fees, work permit lured students to Sham Univ''

G Diwakar

Hyderabad, Feb 3 (PTI) Lower fee structure and workpermit from the first day lured many students from India toopt for the California-based Tri-valley University (TVU),which was shut down by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE), say educational consultants.

The university was shut down on charges of a massiveimmigration scam by the ICE recently leaving the Indianstudents to face the prospect of deportation from the US.

Ninety-five per cent of the students at TVU, dubbed a "shamuniversity" by US immigration officials, were reported to beIndian, most of them from Andhra Pradesh.

According to IAEC Consultants, a city-based overseaseducational consultants, the university was chosen by most ofthe Indian students because of its fee structure, which islesser when compared to other universities.

"TVU''s fee structure is very less when compared to otheruniversities in USA which charge in the range of USD 15,000 toUSD 20,000 per annum. Also the university basically offerson-line courses which allow the students to stay at a placeother than the location," IAEC Managing Director, MadhukarReddy, told PTI.

Incidentally, IAEC Consultancy has been named asTri-valley''s representatives for South Asia region in thevarsity''s website.

However, Reddy denied any links with the university andsaid IAEC Consultancy has not sent even a single student tothe institution.

"As per (media) reports, as many as 1500 students (in theuniversity) are from India. The US government will never issuevisas in such large scale to one single university," he said.

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