The three Education Consultancy and Placement Firms that were issued suspension notices yesterday are seeking clarity and plan to appeal the decision. The firms, Smart-V, EducationPro, and Middle Path, have been suspended for six months. The Higher Education Quality Council under the Bhutan Qualifications and Professionals Certification Authority issued the notification yesterday, citing “repetitive non-compliance” as the reason for the suspension.
The suspension will come into effect from the 5th of next month.
The notification further states that these firms are strictly prohibited from operating on both physical and digital platforms during the suspension period.
The Middle Path Education Consultancy and Placement Firm said that they will appeal the authority’s decision.
The firm’s CEO said he remains hopeful that the authority will accept their appeal and overturn the decision.
He added that all previously lodged complaints had been resolved within the given timeframe and were closed about two months ago.
Likewise, the Smart-V Education Consultancy and Placement Firm claimed there had been a misunderstanding. The firm said it is seeking clarity and resolution, adding that it will continue operating in the meantime.
Tshering Dhendup, the owner & CEO of Smart-V ECPF saids, “I would like to inform all my clients, my team, and my staff that Smart Education Consultancy have done nothing wrong. So please don’t worry and be calm. Regarding the notification issued by BQPCA, I am also surprised as well. However, they have provided us ten days of appeal period. So during which we will seek necessary clarifications and provide our justifications. And I am very hopeful and have confidence that things will be normal. And we will continue providing our services as usual.”
Meanwhile, EducationPro has been suspended for repetitive offences and past history of non-compliance.
While the firm had been also suspended and notified in 2020 and last year respectively, the current suspension comes after the authority recently received complaints regarding the firm’s claims such as “100 per cent Visa Success Rate” on its official and social media platforms.
The suspension letter states the consultancy’s repetitive non-compliance by making such misleading promotional claims.
The notification states that it prohibits using the term “100 per cent Visa Success Rate” or similar language which violates the Higher Education Quality Council’s 2023 notification.
The firm’s CEO, on a Facebook Live session this evening, shared that the firm will appeal the decision and assured its clients of its full support.
Tandin Dorji, the CEO of EducationPro Education Consultancy and Placement Firm said, “Even if suspended, as mentioned, we have an agreement with the government mentioning that we take responsibility of our clients. Even if the firm is suspended or the business is shut down, we are responsible and accountable for the clients’ study completion and we are ready for it.”
Meanwhile, the Association of Bhutan Education Consultancies said that the authority has set a right precedent and every firm must comply by the rules and regulations.
Palden Tshering, the chairperson of the Association of Bhutan Education Consultancies said, “What it means for Bhutan is that BQPCA has shown that in South Asia, they are the strongest regulatory and compliance body that probably operates in South Asia, which regulates how education consultancy in placement firms operate. This is a very, very strong message to the Australian High Commission to the Canadian High Commission, to the UK High Commission to the New Zealand High Commission, and to Germany and other countries that Bhutanese are presently applying to because at the end of the day what they want is to ensure that genuine student applicants are being put forth.”
He added that the message is clear, ensuring that everyone involved in this industry within Bhutan complies the rules.
“The beneficiary will be Bhutanese applicants. Once these countries hear about what BQPCA has done they will look at Bhutan in a very different light, and they will regard the Bhutanese students not just as probably low risk, but definitely a low risk applicant, which immediately means that your visa processing time will be faster, the evidence that you have to provide as far as documentation will be much less, and the process will be a lot more straightforward.”
The Association of Bhutan Education Consultancies was formed in 2018 and all 70 Education Consultancy and Placement Firms in the country are its member.
Meanwhile, BBS have yet to get additional information from the Bhutan Qualifications and Professionals Certification Authority.
Devika Pradhan/Kelzang Chhophyel
Edited by Kipchu
