ANDREW DENHOLM and CALUM MACDONALD

CALLS were mounting last night for urgent action from ministers at Holyrood and Westminster after an investigation by The Herald revealed a network of private colleges with questionable credentials taking huge fees from overseas students.

Senior politicians were urged to intervene after it emerged at least four so-called colleges offering business and language qualifications to overseas students were being run from Glasgow.

There are scores more operating across the UK, many apparently connected to a university which is operating illegally in the American state of Oregon. Professional bodies also demanded the Glasgow colleges remove logos placed on their websites without permission.

Yesterday, The Herald revealed police and trading standards officers were already investigating complaints that a bogus college in Glasgow - Kelvin Business School - took tens of thousands of pounds from overseas students for courses that do not exist.

In one case, 20-year-old student Juliana Vasquez from Colombia paid £1200 for an English-language course, only to find the address of the school was a locked and empty office.

There is also concern fake colleges could be operating as a way of bringing illegal immigrants into the country under short-term student visas. Fears over an immigration scam are made more acute by the fact some of the colleges involved are on an official list of providers of education in the UK operated by the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), formerly the Department of Education and Skills.

Although the register is not a guarantee of quality, in effect it is seen as such because overseas students are issued visas on the basis the institution they will attend is on the list.

The list's integrity was called into question yesterday after it emerged Kelvin Business School was on it, despite concerns over its legitimacy first being aired two years ago by the Association of Scotland's Colleges (ASC).

Also included is Glasgow Commonwealth College, one of the two colleges uncovered by The Herald. The second, Great Regent College, is applying for the same status.

Both colleges, and others like them, operate elaborate websites giving detailed information about lavish facilities. They invite prospective students to sign up for courses online, in some cases with an upfront registration fee of more than £500.

However, the addresses given for the colleges, when visited by The Herald, were a private flat in Sauchiehall Street and a rundown office block in Tradeston, one of the city's poorest areas.

Critics of the current system argue it is too complex, with responsibility passed between the Home Office, the DIUS, police and trading standards officers. They say a simpler system operated from Scotland would be more effective.

Pauline McNeill, deputy education spokeswoman for the Scottish Labour Party, said: "We have an obligation to protect the interests of all who are educated in Scotland.

"The executive needs to look at drawing up its own list of recognised providers and it is clear the Home Office needs to ensure the register of institutions is monitored properly."

Elizabeth Smith, deputy education spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservatives, has written to Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop, urging her to step in. She said: "This is extremely worrying and demands urgent action because it challenges the integrity of the excellent Scottish college system."

An executive spokesman said: "The Scottish government is not responsible for private colleges. We can and do provide advice to the DIUS on registration applications from private colleges. How-ever, decision about admissions on the register remain a matter for the DIUS."

The Home Office said the rules were due to be tightened up next year by making it mandatory for those on the list to be affiliated to a recognised independent body.