Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday informed that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has declared 24 ‘swayambhu’ institutions as fake and two more institutions have been accused of violating norms. However, the case against them is still pending in court. Pradhan made this statement in reply to a written question in the Lok Sabha. Based on the complaints received from students, parents, the general public, through electronic and print media, the UGC has declared 24 self-styled institutions as fake universities, the statement said.
UGC declared University as fake
Apart from these, two more institutes namely the Indian Council of Education, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), Qutub Enclave, New Delhi are also working in contravention of the UGC Act, 1956. The cases of the Indian Council of Education, Lucknow, and IIPM, New Delhi are sub-judice.
Uttar Pradesh has a maximum of eight such fake universities
The Education Ministry in its reply said that Uttar Pradesh has the maximum number of eight such fake universities. Their list is as follows-
Varanasi Sanskrit University, Varanasi;
Mahila Gram Vidyapeeth, Allahabad;
Gandhi Hindi Vidyapeeth, Allahabad;
National University of Electro Complex Homeopathy, Kanpur;
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Open University, Aligarh;
Uttar Pradesh University, Mathura;
Maharana Pratap Shiksha Niketan University, Pratapgarh
Indraprastha Education Council, Noida
Fake Universities
These seven fake universities are running in the capital Delhi The National Capital Territory of Delhi NCR is also not free from such institutions. Here also seven such universities are fake and are violating the standard rules of UGC-
- Commercial University Limited
- United Nations University
- vocational university
- ADR Focused Judicial University
- Indian Institute of Science and Engineering
- Vishwakarma Open University
- spiritual university
Two universities each in Odisha and West Bengal. There are two such fake universities each in Odisha and West Bengal. These are:-
- Indian Institute of Alternative Medicine, Kolkata, West Bengal
- Institute of Alternative Medicine and Research, Kolkata, West Bengal
- Navbharat Shiksha Parishad, Rourkela, Odisha
- North Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Odisha.
One fake university each in Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, and Maharashtra
- Sri Bodhi Academy of Higher Education, Puducherry
- Christ New Testament Deemed University, Andhra Pradesh
- Raja Arabic University, Nagpur
- St. John’s University, Kerala
- Baraganvi Sarkar World Open University Education Society, Karnataka
Elaborating on the steps taken by the UGC against bogus or unrecognized universities, Pradhan said, when any self-styled institution is found to be functioning or is found to be functioning in contravention of the UGC Act, 1956, the UGC National Issues public notice regarding the list of fake universities/institutions in Hindi and English newspapers.
He said that show cause and warning notices are issued to unauthorized institutions awarding illegal degrees. The commission writes letters to the state chief secretaries, education secretaries, and principal secretaries to take action against such universities located under their jurisdiction.