Australia discovers series of “ghost schools”, more than 25,000 vocational certificates revoked

(Dan Tri) - A large-scale inspection conducted by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has discovered a series of "ghost schools" in the vocational training sector in this country.

The incident shows that serious fraud in the vocational training sector occurs at a number of private vocational training establishments in Australia.

Specifically, ASQA announced that more than 25,000 vocational certificates issued by 8 vocational training schools in Australia will be revoked. The revoked certificates are mainly in professional fields such as preschool education , disability support, community services, mechanics, commercial vehicle repair, first aid techniques, information technology...

This move will affect about 23,000 students in Australia, many of whom are migrant workers living and working in the land of kangaroos.

25,000 practice certificates have just been revoked by Australian authorities (Illustration photo: TAT).

In the latest inspection, eight vocational training establishments were deregistered.

According to Australian authorities, violations occurring at vocational training schools seriously threaten the safety of vulnerable groups in this country, such as the elderly, people with disabilities, mentally ill patients, and youth in special circumstances...

These are the subjects that are cared for and supported at social welfare centers. These centers often recruit a large number of personnel from vocational training schools.

In 2024, more than 21,000 vocational certificates were cancelled by Australian authorities, and 4 vocational training schools had their vocational training functions revoked.

ASQA said that after the agency officially announced the cancellation of 21,000 practice certificates in 2024, only 20% of affected students responded. ASQA asked affected students to provide documents and evidence showing that they had studied and taken the practice certificate exam in accordance with regulations.

However, no trainees were able to provide valid documents and evidence. In response to the emergence of vocational training schools that seriously violated vocational training and certification procedures, the Australian Government has allocated 37.8 million Australian dollars to improve transparency in vocational training activities.

Specifically, 33.3 million Australian dollars have been granted to ASQA to strengthen inspection capacity, establish a unit to inspect the integrity of vocational training institutions, and open a hotline to receive reports of violations in vocational training activities.

Since the process was launched in October 2024, more than 3,200 reports have been made to ASQA. Half of those reports have resulted in actual investigations. ASQA said it is continuing to investigate other vocational training providers and will take serious action against any breaches.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/australia-phat-hien-loat-truong-ma-hon-25000-chung-chi-nghe-bi-huy-20250804111444429.htm