The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Friday (August 26) released a list of 21 "self-styled, unrecognised institutions" which had been functioning in contravention of the UGC Act, 1956. The universities have been declared fake and do not have any power to confer degrees to students.
According to UGC, eight fake institutions have been found in Delhi, followed by four such universities in Uttar Pradesh (UP), while two bogus campuses each in West Bengal and Odisha. Other states such as Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh have one each.
Which University Can Confer Or Grant Degree?
The official handle of UGC India shared the notification on Twitter along with a link for details. They wrote, "@ugc_india's Public Notice regarding Fake Universities."
@ugc_india's Public Notice regarding Fake Universities .
— UGC INDIA (@ugc_india) August 26, 2022
For more details, follow the link :https://t.co/6DZHenskT9.@PMOIndia @EduMinOfIndia @PIB_India @PTI_News @ani_digital pic.twitter.com/PKzG0pjQ3v
The notification dated August 25 mentioned the UGC Act, 1956 and its Section 22, which explains which university has the right to confer or grant degrees.
As per the statement, universities can confer or grant degrees only if the institution is established or incorporated by or under the Central, State/ Provincial Act or by an institution deemed to be a University under Section 3. It added that an institution specially empowered by an Act of Parliament can also confer or grant degrees.
The statement further noted that Section 23 of the UGC Act prohibits using the word 'University' by any institution other than a university established as the above-stated criteria.
21 Universities Declared Fake
An excerpt from the notice read, "Students and Public at large are hereby informed that presently following 21 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."
In Delhi, eight institutions have been declared fake. They are All India Institute of Public and Physical Health Sciences (AIIPPHS), State Govemment University; ADR-Centric Juridical University; Adhyatmik Vishwavidyalaya (Spiritual University); Commercial University Ltd. Daryaganj; Indian Institution of Science and Engineering, New Delhi; United Nations University, Delhi; Vocational University, Delhi; and Viswakarma Open University for Self-employment.
In UP, four universities have been declared bogus. They are Bhartiya Shiksha Parishad; Gandhi Hindi Vidyapith, Prayag, Allahabad; National University of Electro Complex Homeopathy, Kanpur; and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose University (open university).
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