UGC identifies 20 'fake' universities; Delhi and Uttar Pradesh top the list

The list of "fake" universities includes eight institutions from Delhi, four from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, and one each from Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Puducherry. "Degrees awarded by such universities shall neither be recognised nor valid for higher education or employment purpose," UGC Secretary said.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) recently declared 20 universities to be "fake" and unapproved to provide degrees. Among them, Delhi has the highest number of such institutions, with eight universities falling under this category. According to UGC Secretary, Manish Joshi, claims that these colleges have been awarding degrees in defiance of the UGC Act. He emphasised that because these universities lack the authorization to award legitimate degrees, degrees earned from them would not be acknowledged for use in further education or the workforce.

Eight universities from Delhi, four from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, and one each from Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Puducherry are on the list of "fake" universities.

All India Institute of Public and Physical Health Sciences, Commercial University Ltd, Daryaganj, United Nations University, Vocational University, ADR-Centric Juridical University, Indian Institution of Science and Engineering, Viswakarma Open University for Self-Employment, and Adhyatmik Vishwavidyalaya (Spiritual University) are among the universities mentioned in Delhi.

Gandhi Hindi Vidyapith, National University of Electro Complex Homoeopathy, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose University (Open University), and Bhartiya Shiksha Parishad are the four institutions from Uttar Pradesh that are included on the list.

Both Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have two universities: the Indian Institute of Alternative Medicine and the Institute of Alternative Medicine and Research in West Bengal, and the Christ New Testament Deemed University and the Bible Open University of India in Andhra Pradesh.

The "fake" universities also include Raja Arabic University (Maharashtra), St. John's University (Kerala), Badaganvi Sarkar World Open University Education Society (Karnataka), and Sree Bodhi Academy of Higher Education (Puducherry).