NEW DELHI: As many as 20 universities in India have been termed fake by the University Grants Commission (UGC), with Delhi reporting the highest number of such institutions.
The list also includes universities from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
In a letter to the vice-chancellors of these universities, UGC said that they figure in the list of “fake universities” as they are not a “university” as defined by Section 2(f) or Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, but engaged in the business of conferring degrees or using the word “university with its name to defraud and cheat innocent students.”
“It has become a matter of concern as many students are becoming victims of the fraudulent act of your institution,” the letter said. The V-Cs were also asked to submit a compliance report within 15 days stating that their institution is not awarding any degree. “If no response is received from your side within the stipulated period, UGC shall be compelled to take strict action, including legal action,” the letter said.
Of the 20 universities, eight were from Delhi alone. These are All India Institute of Public & Physical Health Sciences State Government University in Alipur; Commercial University Ltd., Darya Ganj; United Nations University; Vocational University; ADR-Centric Juridical University, Rajendra Place; Indian Institute of Science and Engineering; Viswakarma Open University for Self-Employment; and Adhyatmik Vishwavidyalaya in Rohini.
The other institutes in the list are Christ New Testament Deemed University, Guntur; Bible Open University of India, Visakhapatnam; Badaganvi Sarkar World Open University Education Society, Belgaum; St. John’s University, Kishanattam; Raja Arabic University, Nagpur; Sree Bodhi Academy of Higher Education, Puducherry; Gandhi Hindi Vidyapith, Allahabad; National University of Electro Complex Homeopathy, Kanpur; Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose University, Aligarh; Bhartiya Shiksha Parishad, Lucknow, and Indian Institute of Alternative Medicine and the Institute of Alternative Medicine and Research from West Bengal.