Sydney  - Thousands of foreign students studying in Australia were left shocked and angry on Friday after the collapse of four private colleges in Melbourne and Sydney.

Students, many of them just weeks from graduating, turned up for class, only to find the doors locked and signs saying the colleges had gone out of business.

The 2,700 students, mostly from India and South-East Asia, had paid up to 20,000 Australian dollars (18,300 US dollars) to the China-owned Global Campus Management/Meridean Group which suddenly went into voluntary bankruptcy administration on Thursday.

Thousands of shocked students gathered outside the locked colleges demanding answers as they feared losing their money without receiving any qualifications.

The colleges, located at 13 campuses in Melbourne and Sydney, provide tuition in hospitality, design, English language, fashion and secondary education.

State governments stepped in to offer places in government schools for students to sit their exams, but students feared they had been cheated and abandoned.

Victorian Premier John Brumby said vocational students would be offered positions in other colleges. He said it was purely a commercial matter as the colleges closed when one of the owners withdrew financial support.

It is the latest disaster in Australia's troubled foreign education industry which has seen nine colleges suddenly close since May when the government started a crackdown on the privately run colleges.

Investigations had revealed some of the colleges were simply means for foreign students to get residency visas for Australia and offered little proper education.

Around 150,000 overseas students are enrolled in colleges, universities and schools in Australia making it an industry worth 16 billion Australian dollars anually.

Tougher regulations and auditing of the private colleges are due to be brought in next year.

Australia's reputation was badly hurt earlier this year when Indian students protested, saying they had been victims of racist attacks. (dpa)