Some privately run schools are defrauding students by pretending to be affiliates of famous universities.

 

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, one of the top universities in Shanghai, said yesterday that schools in neighboring Jiangsu Province and in Hunan and Sichuan provinces were recruiting students in the name of Jiao Tong's admission office.

 

Recruiters claimed students, regardless of their college entrance exam scores, could be enrolled and get a Jiao Tong degree after paying an application fee of 1,500 yuan (US$197).

 

Those who failed the college entrance exam were entry to a joint program run by Jiao Tong and a foreign university, which charges a tuition of 25000 yuan to 30,000 yuan a year.

 

Students were told they would study for one year at Jiao Tong and another three years in the US or Britain before being awarded a dual degree, according to Ma Lei, Jiao Tong's registrar.

 

"Shanghai Jiao Tong here clarifies that all these recruiting institutes have nothing to do with Jiao Tong. Their behavior has fouled the university's reputation and students should never believe that blindly," the university said in an online statement.

 

But a Shanghai Daily investigation found some institutes still misrepresenting themselves as second-tier Jiao Tong colleges and using part-time agents to enroll students.

 

On the bulletin board of edu.qq.com, the "Nanyang Science and Technology College at Jiao Tong" claimed it had set up seven college degree equivalence programs with an annual tuition fee of 6,500 yuan.

 

High school or polytechnic graduates will be arranged to take classes at Nanhui University Town from this September and get a "recognized" degree and qualifications after passing graduation exams, the notice said.

 

But an enrollment contact left on the Website told Shanghai Daily he had no idea what students could get after graduation. All he had was several pages of introduction materials.

 

"I'm not clear about the schools' background, either. I'm only an enrollment agent," said the man surnamed Zhu, who is an undergraduate student.

 

Zhu said his room-mate offered him the job, which can earn him about 30 yuan commission for each enrollment.

 

"I just want to earn myself some pocket money in the summer vacation," Zhu said.

 

Jiao Tong officials warned parents and students of the scams and said they may pursue the impostors legally.

 

(Shanghai Daily July 14, 2007)