The Bhutan Qualifications and Professionals Certification Authority has raised the alarm over education consultancy and placement firms involved in illegally recruiting people for jobs abroad. The concerned authorities say this is leading to growing cases of fraud, exploitation, and misuse of licenses. The authority suspended one such firm following complaints last month.
Education consultancy and placement firms are mandated to help Bhutanese students pursue quality education abroad by guiding them through the process and ensuring placement in recognised institutions. But not all firms are following this mandate.
According to the Bhutan Qualifications and Professionals Certification Authority, two education consultancy and placement firms attempted to send Bhutanese people for employment through deceptive practices such as forged documents and false promises. As a result, their licenses were suspended, one in 2017 and another in June this year.
“An education consultancy and placement firm promised to place people in the United Kingdom for employment but failed to do so. Then it promised Canada, but that also did not work out. The firm also took a large amount of money from individuals who could not go abroad and lost their jobs here,” said Pema Dorji, Legal Officer, Bhutan Qualifications and Professionals Certification Authority.
Yarab Global Education Consultancy and Placement Firm was suspended last month following a preliminary investigation by the authority. It was found that the firm had overstepped its mandate by attempting to recruit individuals for overseas employment and issuing forged offer letters and Canadian visas. This led to a five-year entry ban on the affected individuals from entering Canada. The case is under investigation.
Meanwhile, the Guidelines for Education Consultancy and Placement Firms 2021 is under review, and the authority has issued a moratorium on the establishment of new firms since June 2023.
“Until June 2023, there were over ninety education consultancy and placement firms registered under the authority. Considering our country’s population, this number is too high. So, we consulted with the existing consultancies and imposed a moratorium,” added Pema Dorji, Legal Officer, Bhutan Qualifications and Professionals Certification Authority.
He added that the need for such firms is being closely monitored, and the moratorium will only be lifted if necessary.
The Chairman of the Association of Bhutanese Education Consultancies said that a review of the Guidelines for Education Consultancy and Placement Firms 2021 will help enhance the quality of services and benefit the clients.
“Over the past two years, they have been working on a very specific framework that would help regulate and ensure compliance from all of us. At the end of the day, the ultimate beneficiary would be the student who would get quality services with integrity,” said Palden Tshering, Chairman, Association of Bhutanese Education Consultancies.
Moreover, he acknowledged that overseas employment and education are two distinct matters that the consultancies should be aware of.
“It is very clear with a lot of high commissions as well. They’ve notified all of us that look, for example, at New Zealand. If the New Zealand High Commission finds out that we are offering migratory information to a student and advising them as such, then it is likely that the student could face a visa rejection on that ground alone. No other reason is required,” said Palden Tshering, Chairman, Association of Bhutanese Education Consultancies.
The association said social media posts made by existing education consultancy and placement firms in the country are closely monitored through the association’s platform to prevent the spread of misinformation and ensure compliance with its mandate
Currently, there are 71 education consultancy and placement firms in the country.
Kinzang Lhadon
Edited by Phub Gyem
