Liquidator appointed to Dublin language school

The Dublin company behind English language school BCT Institute has gone into liquidation with debts of over €350,000.

It is the sixth private language college to close since last May.

However, a creditors meeting today heard that most of the BCT's 530 students had already been transferred to other colleges. The two largest unsecured creditors listed in a statement of affairs were Liffey College and NCBA- owed €63,000 and €90,000 respectively - for accommodating such displaced students.

Revenue was said to be owed €64,495 and Dublin City Council €65,000 in rates.

BCT closed its doors on what it said was a temporary basis last month after it was suspended from a list of authorised colleges.

Today, Declan de Lacy of PKF O'Connor, Leddy & Holmes was appointed as liquidator to HSD Education Limited, which traded as BCT at Dublin's Parnell Street. Muhammad Hafeez, a director of the company, attended the creditor's meeting but was unavailable for comment afterwards.

Luis Pinto, a former student at BCT, said he understood about 50 students had been left “in limbo” without being transferred to another college. A lot of students had lost their fees, and felt it was unfair they were being asked to pay again under the subsidised scheme set up last month by the industry body Marketing English in Ireland (MEI).

Under the scheme, courses are being offered at a discount of up to 70 per cent for the estimated 2,000 students affected by the closures.

Four of the other language schools to close were in Dublin – Kavanagh College, Eden College, Irish Business School and Millennium College – while the fifth was in Cork: the Allied Irish College on South Mall.