ONE of the Middle Eastern RMIT students accused of cheating by Ombudsman's investigators is the asylum seeker who became known as the "forgotten man" of Australia's immigration policy.

Kuwaiti-born Palestinian Aladdin Sisalem was held for 18 months - 10 of them on his own at the Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea.

It cost the Australian Government more than $5 million to keep its Manus Island detention centre open during the months Mr Sisalem was the sole detainee.

Mr Sisalem, 31, an aerospace engineering student, was granted a visa to come to Australia in 2005 and became an Australian citizen last year.

He denied the cheating claims. He accused the Ombudsman of singling him out because he had earlier alleged to the Ombudsman that RMIT staff racially abused him because of the publicity he got over the Manus Island incident.

The Herald Sun revealed a probe into RMIT by the Ombudsman had found evidence that suggested foreign students were cheating and getting special treatment.

A draft Ombudsman's report allegedly found some international students who failed tests at RMIT were allowed to keep sitting the same exams until they passed.

Monash University researcher Bob Birrell yesterday said he couldn't comment on the Ombudsman's draft report because he wasn't aware of its content, but he said similar allegations had been made to him.

Dr Birrell claimed some Victorian universities had dropped standards to make it easier for foreign students to get degrees in Australia.

He said his research had revealed up to a third of international students in Australia were being allowed to graduate even though they were not proficient in English.

Dr Birrell said a number of university lecturers had contacted him in recent years to complain about being pressured by universities to allow academically challenged foreign students to pass tests and graduate.

"I have got a file full of (academic staff) telling me that this sort of thing is happening, but usually they don't want to go public on it.

"But a number of lecturers, particularly in the accounting area, have said to me they had to change the curriculum, and the way they assessed performance, in order to accommodate the limited English skills of many of their students."

Dr Birrell said funds coming in from domestic students had reduced so there was enormous budgetary pressure to maximise overseas student numbers.

Dr Birrell said the Federal Government was aware of the problem of many foreign students not being proficient in English and was moving to introduce tougher standards.

"There is a reluctance to do anything about this because of the pressure from the international student industry," he said.