31 Oct :The Central Government, through University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), keeps a watch over the nefarious activities of the fake universities/institutions which run vocational and technical courses. During the last three years and the current year so far, the UGC has identified two fake universities/ institutions (Vocational and Technical), one each in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
The AICTE, during this period, has identified 203 fake technical education institutions, out of which 74 are in Maharashtra, 25 in Delhi, 22 in Karnataka, 15 each in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, 14 in Uttar Pradesh, 9 each in Haryana and Chandigarh, 8 in Andhra Pradesh, 3 each in Rajasthan and Gujarat, 2 each in Kerala and Punjab and 1 each in Madhya Pradesh and Goa .
The name of such institutions has been included in the list of the fake universities /institutions maintained by the UGC and the AICTE and also placed on their respective official websites for information to the students and general public. With a view to creating awareness in this regard, wide publicity is given by the UGC and the AICTE every year through print / electronic media, as well as on their official websites, cautioning students and parents not to take admission in such unapproved institutions. Show cause notices have been issued to these unapproved institutions advising them to seek approval of the competent body or close down such courses.
The Chief Ministers of the State/UT Governments have been requested to issue instructions to the law and order machinery of the State and the District level to take punitive action under the Indian Penal Code against fake universities/ educational institutions. A public appeal in this regard was also issued on 17th June, 2008 by Union HRD Ministry requesting that while seeking admission in higher education institutions, the students must satisfy themselves that such institutions and the courses offered by them are recognized under the relevant laws and are of quality and repute and in case of any doubt, necessary clarification may be obtained from the statutory bodies, such as UGC, AICTE etc. These statutory bodies have also been directed to launch effective campaign against such institutions which are unrecognized and unauthorized and to take appropriate penal action under law. An appeal has also been made to the media to refuse to publish misleading advertisements even if it means loss of advertising revenue.
This information was given by Smt. D. Purandeswari, Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, in written reply to a question in Parliament recently.