UK MPs seek probe into cheating ‘scandal’ involving Indian students

British parliamentarians have demanded an independent inquiry into the “forgotten scandal” of thousands of international students, including Indians, being accused of cheating by the UK government in an English language test.

In a parliamentary debate at Westminster Hall on Tuesday, Labour MP P Gareth Thomas said given the seriousness, the “scandal merits a proper, thorough independent inquiry”. “I strongly agree. In fact… an independent inquiry is necessary,” added Wes Streeting, the Labour MP who had called the debate, attended by Indian-origin Labour MP Seema Malhotra among others.

Terming the incident as “social injustice”, happened under the “government’s watch”, Malhotra said the entire episode hit the reputation of the students’ families. She said the incident led to depression and affected whole families, including children, and demanded an “extensive apology and potential compensation”.

The MPs also called on the UK Home Office to allow students, who claim to be wrongly accused, to re-sit the exam to prove their innocence. Streeting categorised the issue as worse than the UK’s recent Windrush scandal involving largely Caribbean-origin migrants being wrongfully deported from the UK. “I am not the first to compare the dreadful mishandling of the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) cases to the scandalous mistreatment of the Windrush generation,” he said.

“Our constituents undertook tests run by the Educational Testing Service, a body approved and licenced by Home Office. They should not be punished for doing something like that. It is shameful and unacceptable this is going on,” he added.

Scottish National Party MP Martyn Day highlighted the case at a personal level and described how his Indian partner, Nadia, had been caught up in the scandal despite having perfect English.

“When she was interviewed by an immigration officer, he said her English was as good as his. It might even be better than mine. She understands English and speaks it well. She often corrects my grammar when she gets advance sight of my press releases and speeches,” Day said, adding the fall in Indian students coming to study at the UK universities is linked to the scandal.

“Most of the students affected are from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, and I wonder what the lasting reputational damage to the UK will be. It can be no surprise — I think there is definitely a connection — that the number of student applications from India is barely a third of what is was before this situation arose,” he said.

The issue dates back to 2014, when the BBC aired a probe into colleges offering TOEIC exams and revealed some cases of cheating.