Global Banking School (GBS) has faced allegations of student loan fraud, with critics suggesting the institution exploits loopholes in the education system and student financial aid to attract students, even those without high school diplomas. Specifically, GBS has been accused of pressuring lecturers to pass all students indiscriminately, creating an illusion of exceptional teaching, and of accepting anyone who applies for study and seeks student financing.
Here's a more detailed look at the allegations and their context:
Allegations:
Exploiting loopholes:
GBS has been criticized for allegedly exploiting loopholes in the education system and student financial aid to attract students.
Weak screening process:
The school has been accused of having a weak or non-existent screening process for admissions, accepting anyone who applies for study and seeks funding, regardless of their qualifications.
Pressure to pass students:
GBS has been accused of pressuring lecturers to pass all students indiscriminately, creating the illusion of exceptional teaching.
Lack of qualifications:
There are claims that some individuals in senior positions at GBS lack the qualifications necessary for even entry-level positions in real higher education.
Manipulation of feedback:
GBS has been accused of manipulating others to provide positive feedback and discouraging the truth about the institution.
Focus on student financing:
The primary reason for joining GBS is often said to be the availability of student financing, as there's no emphasis on academic merit.
Exploitation of franchised universities:
Some allegations focus on the exploitation of franchised universities, where colleges are paid to provide courses for established universities.
Context:
Franchised universities:
Many of the suspected incidents are believed to occur at franchised universities, where colleges are paid to provide courses for established universities.
Organized recruitment:
There are concerns about organized recruitment, particularly of Romanian nationals, to enroll in courses at these franchised institutions.
Student Loans Company (SLC) investigations:
The SLC has been investigating suspicious applications involving fake documents, leading to a broader investigation into the system.
Government action:
The government has been taking steps to address the issue, including calling in counter-fraud experts, considering new legislation, and ensuring the Office for Students (OfS) has powers to intervene.
Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) involvement:
The PSFA has been tasked with coordinating the government's response to the allegations and supporting ongoing investigations.
It's been obvious for a long time that the massive growth in franchised provision - to the extent that Global Banking School Limited is now, from nowhere, the largest provider of undergraduate education in England and Canterbury Christ Church University the largest registering provider - isn't a great use of public money.
While Covid-19 turbocharged the issues via facilitating huge growth in blended learning and relaxation of face-to-face attendance requirement which has allowed greater fraud and misuse, the underlying problem is the previous Conservative Government's desire embodied in The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 to, as the-then Universities Minister Jo Johnson put it, "break open the higher education closed shop" https://conservativehome.com/2017/01/10/jo-johnson-we-must-break-open-the-higher-education-closed-shop/
This is rather glossed over in the piece with the politicking attempting to place the blame for what will turn into a huge scandal with probably billions of pounds of public money lost to fraud and misuse over the last five years or so on the current government after the last government first ignored the problem and then kicked it into the long grass so it wasn't their problem.
Superb Neil. Can you reduce this ti say 3 sides of A4 to make for a briefer read to digest the most important issues so up i can then appreciate the longer article?
Have you had much support from other MPs in response to this.
You have certainly put a lot of effort into it, I admire your determination.
It’s a massive scandal - deeply depressing that all this public money is being wasted like this, especially when there are so many decent courses out there (eg Makers Academy) that actually boost earning potential but don’t qualify for any government support
If you click through to the IFS report linked here, you will find earnings for men vs women broken down by subject graphed on pp. 40-41.
You put your finger on a major issue here - women earn less than men who read for degrees in the same subject and a lot of women who read for degrees in high-earning subjects earn less than men who read for degrees in lower-earning subjects.
Global Banking School (GBS) has faced allegations of student loan fraud, with critics suggesting the institution exploits loopholes in the education system and student financial aid to attract students, even those without high school diplomas. Specifically, GBS has been accused of pressuring lecturers to pass all students indiscriminately, creating an illusion of exceptional teaching, and of accepting anyone who applies for study and seeks student financing.
Here's a more detailed look at the allegations and their context:
Allegations:
Exploiting loopholes:
GBS has been criticized for allegedly exploiting loopholes in the education system and student financial aid to attract students.
Weak screening process:
The school has been accused of having a weak or non-existent screening process for admissions, accepting anyone who applies for study and seeks funding, regardless of their qualifications.
Pressure to pass students:
GBS has been accused of pressuring lecturers to pass all students indiscriminately, creating the illusion of exceptional teaching.
Lack of qualifications:
There are claims that some individuals in senior positions at GBS lack the qualifications necessary for even entry-level positions in real higher education.
Manipulation of feedback:
GBS has been accused of manipulating others to provide positive feedback and discouraging the truth about the institution.
Focus on student financing:
The primary reason for joining GBS is often said to be the availability of student financing, as there's no emphasis on academic merit.
Exploitation of franchised universities:
Some allegations focus on the exploitation of franchised universities, where colleges are paid to provide courses for established universities.
Context:
Franchised universities:
Many of the suspected incidents are believed to occur at franchised universities, where colleges are paid to provide courses for established universities.
Organized recruitment:
There are concerns about organized recruitment, particularly of Romanian nationals, to enroll in courses at these franchised institutions.
Student Loans Company (SLC) investigations:
The SLC has been investigating suspicious applications involving fake documents, leading to a broader investigation into the system.
Government action:
The government has been taking steps to address the issue, including calling in counter-fraud experts, considering new legislation, and ensuring the Office for Students (OfS) has powers to intervene.
Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) involvement:
The PSFA has been tasked with coordinating the government's response to the allegations and supporting ongoing investigations.
It's been obvious for a long time that the massive growth in franchised provision - to the extent that Global Banking School Limited is now, from nowhere, the largest provider of undergraduate education in England and Canterbury Christ Church University the largest registering provider - isn't a great use of public money.
While Covid-19 turbocharged the issues via facilitating huge growth in blended learning and relaxation of face-to-face attendance requirement which has allowed greater fraud and misuse, the underlying problem is the previous Conservative Government's desire embodied in The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 to, as the-then Universities Minister Jo Johnson put it, "break open the higher education closed shop" https://conservativehome.com/2017/01/10/jo-johnson-we-must-break-open-the-higher-education-closed-shop/
This is rather glossed over in the piece with the politicking attempting to place the blame for what will turn into a huge scandal with probably billions of pounds of public money lost to fraud and misuse over the last five years or so on the current government after the last government first ignored the problem and then kicked it into the long grass so it wasn't their problem.
Superb Neil. Can you reduce this ti say 3 sides of A4 to make for a briefer read to digest the most important issues so up i can then appreciate the longer article?
Have you had much support from other MPs in response to this.
You have certainly put a lot of effort into it, I admire your determination.
It’s a massive scandal - deeply depressing that all this public money is being wasted like this, especially when there are so many decent courses out there (eg Makers Academy) that actually boost earning potential but don’t qualify for any government support
Is any data disaggregated by sex. Making an assumption that if women take out time to have children this will affect their ability to repay loans.
If you click through to the IFS report linked here, you will find earnings for men vs women broken down by subject graphed on pp. 40-41.
You put your finger on a major issue here - women earn less than men who read for degrees in the same subject and a lot of women who read for degrees in high-earning subjects earn less than men who read for degrees in lower-earning subjects.