Yemeni partners in local institute alarm police

VISA TROUBLE
Yemeni partners in local institute alarm police
Preetu Nair | TNN

Panaji: Security agencies in the state are alarmed on discovering that a private teaching institute in Panaji is being funded by two Yemeni nationals on a student visa in India to study in Hyderabad. The matter has been reported to the union ministries of Home affairs and External affairs by the Goa Police and their intervention sought.
Drawing the attention of the ministries to the functioning of “The Nobel English Centre” located in a residential building opposite Don Bosco school, Panaji, the Goa police’s special branch in its latest report submitted that the institute’s Indian proprietor has admitted that he has two Yemeni partners and “there appears to be gross violation of visas by the students and in the documentation of the institute”.
However, Sunil Malvankar, owner of The Nobel English Centre, on December 29 2008, submitted to the police that his two Yemeni partners now desired to withdraw their partnership.
“A foreigner in India on a student visa can’t do business or be a partner in a business enterprise. Since this is in violation of visa rules, we have reported the matter to the ministry of Home Affairs to take appropriate action,” said SP (Foreigner’s Registration Office) Tony Fernandes.
“The Yemeni partners resident permits issued by FRO, Hyderabad, indicate that they have entered India via Hyderabad on the strength of student visas,” states the police report.
During police verification it was also found that most of the foreign students enrolled at The Nobel English Centre didn’t have student visas to study there.
“There are 16 students in the institute, of which, 13 are registered with us. Eleven of them have student visas to study in other English teaching institutes. Besides, one student is on a six month provisional student visa and no institute or state is mentioned, one has a student visa to study BCom at Pune University and another to study spoken English in Pune,” said sources. Foreign students enrolled with incorrect visas
Panaji: A case of Yemeni nationals being partners in a local teaching institute has alarmed Goa police. The duo were apparently on a student visa in India to study in Hyderabad. It has also come to light that most foreign students enrolled at the The Nobel English Centre did not have correct student visas.
Police sources said that though the Central government is clear that when a foreign student moves from a recognised institute to another within or outside the state they have to seek the state Home department’s permission, so far there are no rules to monitor movement of students in private institutes.
However, FRO Goa has decided to take up the matter with the FROs at Hyderabad and Pune. “We will take up the matter with the concerned FROs as foreign students can’t study in Goa without a student visa for a Goan institute,” said Fernandes.
The cops are also concerned about the issue of visas to foreigners to study in non registered institutes.
“We have sent reports to the Central ministries about the issue of grant of student visa to foreign nationals to study in private institutes, which are not recognized by the government and asked them to verify the authenticity of the institutions from the FRO, Goa or the Goa state government before issuing a student visa,” said Fernandes. The issue of foreign students is of concern as two months before the Mumbai attacks, a reconnaissance team under the guise of being Malaysian students had stayed in Colaba.
“There is a need to ensure that unauthorized migration of foreign students is not permitted and unscrupulous institutes which admit such students should be strictly dealt with. We are keeping a watch on such institutes, especially after the Mumbai terror attacks,” said SP (Special branch) Atmaram Deshpande. Police sources reveal that most Arabs on student visas arrive to study in institutes not recognized by any government or university. Even as the number of such institutes has increased in the last year, there is still no mechanism to keep a check on them. Many institutes are run in residential buildings without proper permissions or even an NOC from the society.

January 5, 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition