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A major Chinese education company has paid thousands of dollars in perks or cash to admissions officers at top U.S. universities to help students apply to American schools. According to eight former employees the company’s services didn’t end there. Employees engaged in practices such as writing application essays for students, altering recommendation letters and modifying grades on high school transcripts. The company’s success in gaining access to leading American colleges underscores how people on both sides of the Pacific are hungry to capitalize on Chinese students’ desire to study in the United States.

The Chinese government is buying influence over Australian universities by donating libraries and funds for institutes as part of a broader push to strengthen its soft power in the country, two Australian journalists have argued. The debate in Australia echoes concerns in the US, where the Chinese government has been accused of seeking to exert control over the academy by funding Confucius Institutes on university campuses.

Twenty-one people have been arrested after US authorities set up a fake university to expose immigration fraud. Officials said the accused knew that the University of Northern New Jersey did not exist, but they were unaware it was a ruse run by immigration agents. The defendants acted as brokers for more than 1,000 foreigners who sought to maintain student and work visas, prosecutors said. Most foreign nationals involved in the scheme came from China and India.

Forty-two bogus colleges and universities which offered fake and unaccredited programmes have been shut down, the Department of higher education and training said. They include three bogus universities which purported to be US-based and offered degrees in 15 days. They are Barkley University, Study for Career Success and the Fargo University.

The SA Qualifications Authority (SAQA) is introducing new regulations on the evaluation of qualifications obtained from foreign institutions to curb the scourge of fake degrees. SAQA has also introduced new security features on its certificate of evaluation which compared the foreign qualification with those offered in South Africa.

Alberta's auditor-general says Medicine Hat College's international education division has been an out-of-control programme that has put the college at "reputational, legal and financial risk". The Auditor-Generals report released last Tuesday shows a record of irregular contracts, questionable expenses and dubious academic standards for the C$1.7-million programme, which focuses on attracting foreign students from multiple countries, and works in partnership with three Chinese institutions, to offer courses overseas for Chinese students who can then transfer to Medicine Hat College.

A master's in education and a PhD in culture and education in Latin America that do not meet the legal requirements were advertised by a university foundation in Bogotá. Furthermore, the programmes, delivered under an agreement with a Chilean university, were not registered with Colombia's education ministry.

A scandal involving 49 students who sought places in an Egypt's prestigious university has been revealed. Instead of enrolling in the promised university, the students ended up in Malaysia where 15 were discovered doing odd jobs to support themselves. Moreover in what may be a bureaucratic cross-proposes the Indonesia's Ministry of national education is not in charge of verifying the student's process because is the Ministry of religious affaires the one responsible for students who apply to Islamic Universities abroad.