BHUBANESWAR: Ahead of the new academic session, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has released a list of fake universities in the country including two from Odisha. The Commission has flagged Nababharat Shiksha Parishad in Rourkela and North Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology in Baripada as fake universities. While the Nababharat Parishad was an autonomous body registered under the Societies Registration Act, it was not recognised by the Higher Education department.
It offered courses under open and distance education and a regular system till UGC cracked its whip on the fake institution a few years back. Similarly, North Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology continued to operate fraudulently by self-affiliating itself to North Odisha University (NOU) till 2017 when NOU came across a certificate issued by the former and found it to be fake. Although both institutions have shut down their campuses, they continue to post-admission information on various educational websites.
“Students and public at large are hereby informed that presently following self-styled, unrecognised institutions which are functioning in contravention of the UGC Act, have been declared as fake universities and these are not empowered to confer any degree,” the official UGC document read.