A government watchdog has launched an investigation into the Home Office’s decision to accuse about 34,000 international students of cheating in English language tests.
Over 1,000 students have been removed from the UK as a result of the accusation and hundreds have spent time in detention.
A large numbers of students say they were wrongly accused.
Over 300 cases are pending in the court of appeal as hundreds attempt to clear their names.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has been making preliminary inquiries into the government’s handling of the issue since the beginning of the year, and has now announced that it will proceed with a formal investigation. The body is expected to report its findings in late May or June.
A Home Office spokesperson said, “We have been supporting the National Audit Office in its work on this investigation since the start of the year. We will consider the findings of the report once it is published.”
