Students left out of pocket after shock closure
Students attending the Allied Irish College at 85 South Mall in Cork City arrived to find the school’s signs torn down and the doors locked on Monday.
Maria, not her real name, a 26-year-old biology graduate from Sao Paolo in Brazil, said she had been transferred to Allied Irish College from Millennium College Dublin. She paid €1,000 for an English language course she hoped to attend for three months.
“I paid the money to Millennium College Dublin, but when I arrived in Dublin they transferred me to Cork because they had a problem,” she said.
“I was studying at the school in Cork but when we went there it was closed. I’m very upset. I don’t know what to do. I hope to find another course but I have lost my money and I can’t pay again.”
Letterheads for both Allied Irish College and Millennium College Dublin, which closed last Friday, list a Polish national as a board director.
Joanna Gadajska is registered as a director at the Dublin school, while Ms Gadajska and Rezaul Haque are listed as directors for Allied Irish College in Cork. Mr Haque is believed to be from Bangladesh.
The phone number listed on Allied Irish College headed paper connects to a neighbouring business, where a representative said the number was a mistake on the part of Allied Irish College.
A Cork-based solicitor specialising in immigration law, Colm Stanley, said at least a dozen students had been left upset and fearful at the closure.
“It’s disappointing for them,” said Mr Stanley. “They paid their fees, some as recently as last week. They are worried about their [student] visas, they are worried they might be deported. Some are afraid and feel like they might get into trouble.
“The school appears to be closed. All attempts to contact the owners have been futile.”
Mr Stanley plans to meet with students in Dublin on Thursday to advise as to how they might recover some of their lost money.
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