Students accused in English test cheating scandal demand Sajid Javid to 'put things right'

MORE than 100 students have signed a letter to home secretary Sajid Javid urging him to "put right" a Home Office decision to accuse them of cheating in English language tests with no right to appeal.

Almost 34,000 students were accused of cheating in an English language test in 2015, and an investigation into this by the National Audit Office in May revealed that the Home Office had failed to prevent innocent people from being wrongly deported. A number of students stayed back in the UK to clear their names, without much success.

“It branded us as frauds, forcing us to bear a lifelong mark of shame, while never presenting any evidence at all against most of us,” states the letter, reported the Independent.

It adds: “Many of us are destitute, barely able to live from day to day. Many of us are on medication for stress or depression. Many of us have been rejected by our families, who are shamed by the allegation of cheating. Some of us have tried to kill ourselves.

“Home secretary, you have said you are sympathetic. Twice in the last three months we have been promised a statement from you about the government’s next steps, but you have chosen to keep silent ... Please tell us what our futures will be.”

Nazek Ramadan, director of charity Migrant Voice, said the way these foreign students were treated have "made a mockery of the British justice system."

“These students live every day in growing despair. Stripped of their rights, many are destitute and suffering severe mental health problems. Many have contemplated or attempted suicide," she was quoted as saying. “We urge the home secretary: listen to the students, make the right decision, and do not delay your announcement any longer.”

A Home Office spokesperson said Javid was considering the finding of the NAO report.

“As the NAO have highlighted, the Tier 4 system was subject to widespread abuse in 2014 and almost all those involved in the cheating were linked to private colleges which the Home Office already had significant concerns about,” the spokesperson added. “The report is clear on the scale and organised nature of the abuse, which is demonstrated by the fact that 25 people who facilitated this fraud have received criminal convictions.”