Are Students Protected? An In-depth Look Into Overseas Education Advisory Services is a research report issued earlier this year by the Consumer Council of Hong Kong. It examines Hong Kong-based agents and educational consultants who recruit and advise students interested in studying abroad.
The report identifies a number of issues, including:
- “service providers would not readily disclose pricing information”
- “it was clear that the service providers would not transparently disclose the relationship they had with the recommended overseas education institutions”
- “practices of aggressive selling, bundled selling and poor quality services”
Such findings suggest an answer to the rhetorical question posed by the report’s title.
It concludes with recommendations for practitioners as well as the Hong Kong government. You can access the full report via the Consumer Council website, here.
International Education Insights 