Dozens of African students who paid thousands of euros to study IT in Brussels have been left without degrees and with little hope of recovering their money after their private school went bankrupt.
École IT, located on Rue du Trône in Brussels' European Quarter, was declared bankrupt on 30 July. At the time, around 60 students were enrolled at its Brussels campus, all from African countries, according to an RTBF investigation.
Students came from countries including Cameroon, Senegal, Benin, Congo, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, with some families spending their savings to finance their studies in Belgium.
Scoth, a 29-year-old student from Cameroon, told RTBF that his family had paid €7,500 a year for him to complete a master's programme in IT. He finished his studies but has been unable to obtain his degree following the bankruptcy.
He also discovered after arriving that the private school's qualification was not recognised by the French-speaking Community of Belgium.
"Many parents in Africa put their hopes into this and paid astronomical sums to send their children to study in Brussels. And for what in the end? Nothing," he said.
For some students, the closure could also affect their right to remain in Belgium. Another Cameroonian student, Patrice, told RTBF that his student visa was due to expire within days and that without finding another school, he risked having to leave the country.
Related News
Recruitment focused on Africa
RTBF found that the Brussels school relied heavily on recruiting students from Africa. An unnamed member of its management said Belgian students were largely unwilling to pay the €7,500 tuition fees, leading the school to actively recruit in sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb.
The manager disputed accusations of deliberate wrongdoing and said students themselves had accumulated between €200,000 and €300,000 in unpaid fees. He added that shareholders had invested more than €1 million in an unsuccessful attempt to keep the school afloat.
Problems escalated in 2025, when Belgium's Immigration Office stopped issuing new student visas linked to École IT. According to a document obtained by RTBF, the school was suspected of facilitating the irregular entry of foreign nationals into Belgium.
The resulting decline in new students deprived the school of a major source of income. Its collapse also affected three campuses in France (Valenciennes, Amiens and Orléans) where around 200 students were enrolled.
Former teachers have meanwhile accused the school of continuing to collect deposits from prospective students despite its worsening financial position. One teacher in France, who says he is owed more than €10,000, described the practices as a "scam".
The member of the school's management interviewed by RTBF denied any fraudulent intent and blamed its financial difficulties on the collapse in student visa approvals.
Students now face little prospect of recovering the thousands of euros they paid. The bankruptcy administrator told RTBF that, given the school's accumulated debts, there was little chance they would get their money back.
