21 ‘Counterfeit Universities’ Active in the Nation; 8 Located in Delhi
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New Delhi, Dec 16 (NationPress) There are 21 ‘counterfeit universities’ operating in the country, and the state governments are actively working to address this issue, as informed to Parliament on Monday.
The Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, stated in a response during Lok Sabha that the list of these fake universities can be found on the University Grants Commission (UGC) website at https://www.ugc.gov.in/universitydetails/Fakeuniversity.
According to the website, out of the 21 counterfeit universities, eight are predominantly operating in Delhi.
To safeguard students from being misled and defrauded by these institutions posing as ‘Universities’, the Central government has urged Chief Secretaries across all states and Union Territories to initiate legal action for their closure.
In response to inquiries from Sudheer Gupta and Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane, the Minister mentioned that steps have been taken by the UGC and government, including issuing public notices via social media and the UGC website to raise awareness among the public, students, parents, and other stakeholders regarding these fake Universities.
He added that FIRs have been filed against various self-proclaimed institutions/universities, and warnings or show cause notices have been dispatched to unauthorized institutes offering invalid degrees.
Additionally, in response to another query, Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar informed the Lok Sabha that there has been a total budget increase of Rs 2875.29 crore for the Department of Higher Education in 2024-25 compared to the previous fiscal year.
The total budget for the Department in 2024-25 stands at Rs 47,619.77 crore, up from Rs 44,744.48 crore in 2023-24, as stated by MoS Majumdar while addressing a question from Dushyant Singh.
Regarding public spending on higher education institutions in Rajasthan, MoS Majumdar reported that a total of Rs 556.86 crore has been allocated for FY 2024-25 until November 30, 2024, to three Centrally Funded Higher Education Institutions in Rajasthan: IIT Jodhpur, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur, and Central University of Rajasthan.
Moreover, Rs 535.99 crore has been allocated for establishing IIM Udaipur and IIIT Kota in Rajasthan, according to the MoS.
