Dublin language school Leinster College has announced its closure on a temporary basis from today, leaving hundreds of students and staff with an uncertain future.

The college, which teaches from offices in Harcourt Street and in Dolphin’s Barn, made the announcement in a notice on its website.

Leinster College managing director Khan M Salehin said the college would be closed from today (October 28th) until November 7th “due to weak financial situation”.

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He said further information would be uploaded on the college’s website on Friday.

Attempts by The Irish Times to contact Mr Salehin were unsuccessful but staff at the college said they believed a permanent closure would follow.

Nine English language schools have already closed in recent months in Dublin and Cork, affecting more than 2,000 students.

This follows a clampdown on abuses of the student visa system, whereby young people from outside the European Economic Area are registering with colleges with the main aim of working rather than studying in Ireland.

The Departments of Education and Justice have announced plans for a new regulatory regime including beefed up inspections to deal with what it called “visa factories” in the English language school sector.