The University of Wales will cease to exist after mounting a series of damaging revelations. An investigation revealed last week that overseas students at Rayat London College, in Hounslow, were sold diploma exam answers in advance of taking the test.

An Education Minister says the University of Wales has let down higher education in Wales and brought the nation "into disrepute". His criticism comes after a watchdog's report told the university to review its worldwide college links, which include in particular a college in Bangkok said to be operating illegally.

The Immigration Minister admitted yesterday there may be widespread abuses of a visa scheme that provides foreign students with the chance to enrol at UK institutions after irregularities were found at a Scottish university.

People in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have been found buying fake degrees of all sorts from diploma mills and other bogus universities. Those universities have no physical existence and operate only through websites. Most diploma mills are operating from Britain or United States where academic standards are presumed to be very high. Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigations compiled a list of over 10,000 persons who obtained fake degrees from diploma mills in USA. A significant number of them are from South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. Currently, there are about 80 notorious diploma mills that operate from the United States and the UK.