Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Aug 9: The Central government informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that there are currently 20 universities listed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) as fake universities, and three have been added to the list in the previous three years.
Subhas Sarkar, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, provided the details in a written response to a member’s inquiry over the number of fraudulent universities that had sprouted up in the previous three years.
“Currently 20 institutions figure in this list,” said the MoS while responding to the query of Kartikeya Sharma.
Citing information from the UGC, the Minister stated that three “fake institutions” that were added to the list of fake universities by the UGC between 2021 and 2023 include the Bible Open University of India in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh; the Bhartiya Shiksha Parishad in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh; the All India Institute of Public and Physical Health Sciences (AIIPPHS), State Government University in Alipur, Delhi.
In 2023, Bible Open University of India was included on the UGC list of fake universities.
Bhartiya Shiksha Parishad, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and AIIPPHS, State Government University were added to the list in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) website, at https://www.ugc.gov.in/page/fraudulent Universities.aspx, has a list of fake universities, Sarkar said.
“From time to time, the UGC writes letters to Chief Secretaries and Education Secretaries of respective state and UT governments to take action against fake universities and institutes located in their jurisdiction,” the Minister added.
