Government needs to keep a check on fake universities
n an address to the Lok Sabha, Education Minister recently highlighted the 24 ‘self-styled’ institutions that were declared fake by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Uttar Pradesh constituted the highest number of fake universities followed by Delhi. Around eight universities have been declared fake in Uttar Pradesh, seven in Delhi, four in West Bengal, two in Maharashtra and one in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry.
Explaining what constitutes a fake university, Abhay Chebbi, pro-chancellor, Alliance University says, “Any entity that awards degrees without authorisation under the appropriate statutes is a fake university. In India, degrees can be awarded only by institutions authorised by the UGC. However, due to the difficulty in regulating higher education in a vast and diverse country entities continue to award ‘degrees’ without the necessary authorisation. The degrees awarded by these universities are fake and not worth the paper on which they are printed.”
The student who studies in the fake university suffers gravely as the degree obtained by them is not acceptable for higher education in any other university or for job purposes, he adds.
