129 students mostly Indians will be displaced from Oz college

St George Institute of Professionals, a Melbourne-based vocational college offering courses in management, multimedia and graphic arts, was closed after a "rapid audit" launched by the government to cleanse its education sector. The students affected by the closure are expected to be offered a placement in suitable alternative courses at no extra cost.

The college, according to 'The Age', will surrender its registration from tomorrow.
The closure is a part of Victorian government efforts to audit 41 institutions regarded as a "high risk" to international students.

St George, which is based in Flinders Street in Melbourne's central business district, was registered as a private college in 1998.

Industry insiders had described it as a "very rotten apple" after the auditors found it had failed to comply with most of the necessary teaching and course standards required to operate as a training provider in Victoria.

Skills Minister Jacinta Allan who is currently in India, described the latest closure as disappointing and said the rapid audits were working to weed out "incompetent, unscrupulous education providers."

The students affected by St George's closure are expected to be offered a placement in suitable alternative courses so they can complete their studies at no extra cost.

The Government's industry regulator, Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority, is working with Australian Council of Private Education and Training, and Commonwealth Government agencies, to find placements for the students as soon as possible.

VRQA director Lynn Glover said the rapid audit checked everything, from the college's marketing and pre-enrolment materials, to the qualifications of its teaching staff and its training and assessment materials.