One scholar said this “moral and ethical quandary” was behind his decision to leave Australia and find work overseas.

“Once international student enrolment in our course surpassed 50 per cent, there was significant pressure to pass work which we would not have only a few years prior,” he said.

“Beyond the fact that no academic wants to fail a student, failing a significant proportion of a class reflects poorly on the teaching staff and the program.”

He is among more than 60 academics, tutors, students and parents who inundated The Age on Wednesday with their concerns about the inadequate English skills of some international students.

It follows revelations in The Age that the Victorian government is calling for a review of English entry requirements for international students.

The academic, who did not want to be identified because he fears it will damage his career, said there was a four-fold increase in international students enrolled in his course during his three-year stint at a Victorian university. Many of these students struggled significantly with English.

“We knew, and were consistently told, by university administrators that international students brought much needed revenue which was supporting our employment and research activities in a time of funding uncertainty,” he said.

“However, we also knew that many of our international students did not have the English language capabilities to meaningfully engage in learning activities, or satisfactorily complete assignment tasks.”

Another academic spoke of how international students shared miserable stories with her while begging her to pass them.

Students would tell her: "I need to work 20 hours a week as my parents can't send me enough money", "no-one will work with me so I failed group projects repeatedly", "Please pass me. Please don't expel me. Please don't let my parents find out."

A mother and a student claimed that parts of university classes were being delivered in Chinese because international students were unable to understand instructions in English.

“The lecturer was a native Chinese speaker and began giving lessons in Chinese, leaving the two native English-speaking students totally isolated,” one woman wrote.

Local students also raised concerns about having to complete group assignments with students who had little English.

“While studying for my masters degree in public health an overseas student with low English language skills was in our work group,” one student said.

“For the assignment we had to design a campaign to promote the use of bed nets impregnated with insecticide, to protect against malaria. The student appeared overwhelmed and said nothing during the weeks leading up to the final presentation. In the last class before the final presentation she asked ‘so who is pregnant?’"

Another student said he had to rewrite work submitted by an international student with poor English skills as part of a group assignment.

“I've been in group work where other members copied lecture slides and other plagiarised material into our reports,” he said.

“When I approached them about it, they got upset at me and told me it wasn't a big deal. After I spoke with them again, they agreed to rewrite new sections but the new sections made no sense at all. I had to redo their sections.”

Concerns have also been raised about the English tests that many international students are required to sit before applying for a student visa and enrolling at university. One sessional tutor said some prospective students arranged for someone else to sit the proficiency test in their home country.

A part-time teacher at a Melbourne university called for more support for non-English speakers.

"International students whose first language is not English have trouble understanding and participating in classes, and in completing assignments and assessment," he said.

"It is, in my view, unfair to take their money without first ensuring that they have sufficient English language skills satisfactorily to complete the courses they are enrolling in."