‘I felt fatigued and cold’: Indonesian students duped into doing bogus internships in Germany

Indonesian undergraduate Ramayana Monica is among some 1,900 students who were duped into paying huge fees for the bogus internships.

Still, she gritted her teeth and completed the so-called internship so she could pay off most of the costs to participate in the programme. She returned to Jakarta safely on Dec 31, 2023. Two other suspects are the executives of two Indonesia-based agencies that allegedly promoted the “internship” on various campuses, prepared work contracts and even manipulated information to enable the students to get visas. Another two were officials at a public university in Jakarta who selected eligible students for the “internship” and facilitated their participation, including getting loans for them.

The pamphlets claimed the “internship” was part of a career preparation programme under Indonesia’s Education and Culture Ministry, called the Independent Learning Independent Campus Scheme. The ministry has denied the claim.s offered to international students to allow them to gain work experience in Germany during semester breaks.

“For me, the monthly pay of around 20 million to 30 million rupiah was very attractive, and I thought I could use the money to finance my studies later,” said Ms Ramayana, adding that the irony was that she thought the programme would help to advance her future career and financial prospects.When the programme ended, Ms Ramayana had earned €1,800 , but after deducting fees imposed by the agency and living expenses, she had just €60 left.

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