Financial woes force college closure

About 500 students and 50 staff of training college Perth Institute WA were told yesterday the school would close immediately because of financial difficulties.

Based in the centre of the city, the school offered courses to mostly international students in hospitality, tourism, hairdressing and business for the past 19 years.

Administrator George Lopez, of chartered accountants Melsom Robson, said five parties had shown interest in taking over the school, but negotiations had fallen through and the company that owned the college went into voluntary administration on June 6.

Mr Lopez said the school had fallen into difficulty for several reasons, including the loss several years ago of $1.9 million which was stolen by a former employee. The number of international students studying in Perth had also dropped.

He said students should be found places at other schools because they received fee protection under the Australian Student Tuition Assurance Scheme.