The B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education is investigating a private college in Vancouver over alleged irregularities involving government student loans to Chinese immigrants.

According to the government, at least 70 recent immigrants used the loans to pay City Tech College $10,000 each in tuition.

When officials with the B.C. Student Assistance Program discovered the students were ineligible for the loans, they demanded the money be paid back.

But Hong Gang Hao, one of the students involved, said the school refused to refund his tuition and he and other students were forced to drop out to get jobs to pay back the government.

Hong claims college advisers misled him when he applied for a student loan, and he is now one of 20 students suing City Tech College.

He said government officials are "totally wrong" to think the students were trying to cheat the system, maintaining they trusted the school and the government and were just following instructions.

Ministry spokeswoman Debra Pearce said the school is under investigation for several alleged policy violations, and it has been deregistered from the B.C. Student Assistance Program.
 
City Tech College is still operating, but no one from the school was available for comment.