Students of a city design school have been left in the lurch after the school, which offers graduate and diploma courses, closed down without any notice.
Those who have passed out of Raffles Millennium International, Bengaluru, early this year have been asked to join one of its campuses abroad for a short stint before they can get any certificate.
There are around 46 students who graduated this year in the degree course.
A student, who paid Rs. 18 lakhs and completed her degree course in June, said she even received a certificate from the institute congratulating her on the graduation.
“Most of us even started working and were only waiting for a formal convocation ceremony. This comes as a shocker,” the student added.
The institute has campuses in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore. Depending on the course, students have been asked to study further for three to six months in one of the three campuses.
Those, who are still pursuing the three-year course, have already been shifted to the campuses abroad, sources said.
On Friday, parents met at the institute’s corporate office on M.G. Road to demand an explanation and when the did not get one, they decided to approach the Higher Education Department.
The former Minister Nafees Fazal, whose grandson is among those asked to go to a campus abroad, said that she had approached the government for help.
“The officials at the institute are being evasive and their reply to our concerns are not satisfactory. I will be meeting Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddy this week and have also written to Deputy High commissioner of India in Singapore as well as the college authorities. The State government needs to intervene on behalf of the students,” she said.
The institute’s website claims that their extensive network of schools enables students to seamlessly transfer to other colleges operated by the group in 14 countries across Asia-Pacific. However, some parents also pointed out that the institute was not affiliated to any of the regulatory or academic bodies in the country.
“We were told that the degree would come from one of the institutes abroad. But now the chances seem bleak,” a parent said.
Even, the faculty members were unaware of the closure and are also trying to collect their dues from the college.
Officials of the institute also refused to comment on the issue and said that they were trying to work out a solution with the parents and the students.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rayareddy said that he would seek a report and look into the matter to protect the interest of students.
