The trial before Justice Arziah Apandi, which ran from April 20 to 23, has seen 13 witnesses testify, with 23 others expected to take the stand when the case resumes on Jan 11 next year.

In their statement of claim, the former students of Technology Park Malaysia College said they signed up for the college’s diploma in the biomedical sciences course in 2011 and 2012, but were not told that it did not yet have full MQA accreditation.

They claimed they only found out about it while the course was ongoing.

The students said the college then told them that full accreditation would be obtained after the first batch completed its studies, as the programme was new.

However, they said the problem became clear in 2014 when the first batch of students received diplomas that did not carry full MQA accreditation.

According to the students, this meant that many of them could not use the diploma to continue their studies at the degree level.

They also claimed the college issued a circular on March 24, 2014 saying it was in the process of getting full accreditation and needed three months to do so.

However, they said they found out in 2015 that MQA had rejected the college’s application because it failed to meet the required conditions.

They said the second batch was also told that the college was trying to obtain full accreditation. Some of them were allegedly not given a convocation, while others did not receive their diplomas.

The students said they had taken PTPTN loans to pay for the course, but have struggled to find work because the diploma did not have full accreditation. They also said they were blacklisted after failing to repay the loans.

They are seeking general, special, and exemplary damages, interest, costs, and other relief.

In its defence, the college denied liability to the students.

It said the course had provisional accreditation from MQA in 2009, with an extension from April 1, 2012 to Sept 30, 2013.

It said the programme had valid provisional accreditation during the material time, and that its status was stated in the college brochure.

The college also said prospective students should have checked the matter with MQA or with the college before enrolling.

In reply, the students said provisional accreditation was not the same as full accreditation, and argued that the college should have informed them clearly of this when they registered.

Lawyer J Shamsher Singh represented the students, while Zamri Idrus appeared for the defendant.