ielts the easy way!!

[jilkfree1978]

this was in the sydney newspaper (the sydney morning herald)

its a interesting read!!!

AUSTRALIA'S largest international student service, IDP Australia, is investigating possible corruption among its staff after students in Sydney were caught cheating on English exams the service conducts for the Department of Immigration.

A source in the Sydney Indian community said education agents had been selling copies of the May International English Language Testings System exam for between $12,000 and $18,000.

He said advance copies of the exam had come from inside IDP Australia, a company owned by 38 Australian universities in partnership with the job site Seek, and were being sold throughout Sydney.

"These have been leaking out for months," he said. "It's like a chain of command. It came from the official service who gives it out and takes his cut."

IDP Australia, which the Department of Immigration relies on for English testing, refused to say how many students had been caught cheating but confirmed several test scores had been withheld from students allegedly caught defrauding the system.

IDP Australia said an investigation was under way to determine whether staff inside the service had been involved. The department is not involved.

"Cheating in IELTS tests is not commonplace," a spokeswoman for IDP Australia said. "However, given the high stakes involved, attempts to cheat or engage in other fraudulent activity such as identity fraud do occur.

"Recently in Australia, a small number of test takers have been detected in their attempt to cheat in the IELTS test. Whether or not it was an internal problem, we don't know."

One education agent implicated in the scam, whose offices are split between Sydney and the north-western Indian city of Gujarat, said he was not sure whether his office had been selling the exam papers.

The alleged document selling comes as the Federal Government increases English requirements for people entering the country on skilled migration visas. Applicants were previously granted visas with "a partial command" of English but, as of July 1, are required to show they are "competent" speakers.

The Department of Immigration defended the outsourcing of its English tests, which it said had been handled by IDP since 1994, although tenders have been opened for other organisations to begin handling the test next year.

"There are, of course, allegations from time to time. We treat those seriously," a spokesman for the department said. "We trust IDP Australia will take seriously their obligations."

Immigration and Citizenship Minister Chris Evans is in India dealing with the fallout over recent violence against Indian students and the uncovering of large-scale document fraud and economic slavery inside the $15 billion international education industry.

His office referred questions about the case and the use of a private testing body back to the department.

This month, three people were arrested in the northern Indian city of Ludhiana and charged with impersonation and document fraud while sitting for the IELTS exam.

The trio, including two young girls, had allegedly used forged passports to take the exam on behalf of people intending to apply for visas that required English competency.

[tilla_07]

who in their right mind would pay $18,000 for a test? I mean, come on, if you study hard, get tutors, get teachers, enroll in classes, or even go to AU and get into an english language course (if you are living outside of AU), I bet it would cost less than that. That is crazy.

hey jilkfree1978, where in Japan did you used to live? Im going to Japan in 1.5 months. Very scared about it actually since I have little to no clue about the language or the people.

[jilkfree1978]

hey i am still in japan actually! my wife has to do ielts 1st then we can apply for our visa to oz! i didnt notice it says on my user that i was in australia!

i am currently in tokyo been here for over 2 years i am from the uk,my wife is japanese.i dont speak any japanese i get by ok!!where are you staying/visiting???

Originally Posted by tilla_07

who in their right mind would pay $18,000 for a test? I mean, come on, if you study hard, get tutors, get teachers, enroll in classes, or even go to AU and get into an english language course (if you are living outside of AU), I bet it would cost less than that. That is crazy.

hey jilkfree1978, where in Japan did you used to live? Im going to Japan in 1.5 months. Very scared about it actually since I have little to no clue about the language or the people.

[tilla_07]

Oh, I am not in Japan right now. I will be going there hopefully in early September. I will be staying in Honjo-shi, Saitama as a student. I guess Im just worried about how the culture is. I have heard that Japanese people are nice, but still as a foreigner and someone who only knows the word arrigato, it can be daunting.

So you guys will apply for Oz. What made you guys decide to try for AU, if you don't mind me asking? Since it says in your profile that you are originally from Japan, I thought it meants you are Japanese who is/will migrate to AU.