UGC Alert on Fake Degrees: 32 Unrecognised Universities Listed as EdTech Tie-Ups Face Crackdown
UGC Advisory: The UGC has issued a advisory warning against unauthorized EdTech-university degree tie-ups and placed 32 fake universities under strict watch. Outlawing the commercial franchising of higher education, the regulator advised students to verify institutional recognition via deb.ugc.ac.in before enrolling to ensure degree validity.
UGC Advisory: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released an advisory with a clear warning to students, their parents, and public organizations not to join any unauthorized online degree programmes that run through illegitimate EdTech-university collaborations. At the same time, the higher education regulatory body has put 32 non-approved and fake universities that are functioning throughout the country under strict regulatory watch. Highlighting the absolute compliance to the academic standards of India, the UGC has clearly conveyed that the franchise and outsourcing of degrees or degree-granting authority to private EdTech firms is not permitted by any Indian regulation at present.
Any degree or diploma offered by such a commercial collaboration has no legal validity for pursuing further studies, job in the government sector, and professional certification. Although EdTech firms can provide the digital platform and technical support, the full responsibility of teaching, assessment, management of faculty members, and awarding degrees rests only with the approved Central/State/Deemed/Private universities. To safeguard students from fraudulent promotions and unapproved academic programmes, the UGC advises all students to check the institution's approval status on the website of the Distance Education Bureau (deb.ugc.ac.in).
UGC: 32 Unrecognised / Fake Universities
UGC has issued a revised list of 32 such self-styled and unauthorised institutions functioning in various states violating the provisions of UGC Act, 1956.
| State | Prominent Unrecognised / Fake Institutions on Watchlist |
| Delhi | Commercial University Ltd., United Nations University, Vocational University, ADR-Centric Juridical University |
| Uttar Pradesh | Gandhi Hindi Vidyapith, National University of Electro Complex Homeopathy, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose University |
| West Bengal | Indian Institute of Alternative Medicine, Institute of Alternative Medicine and Research |
| Maharashtra & Karnataka | St. John’s University (Kishanattam), Badaganvi Sarkar World Open University Education Society |
| Kerala & Other States | St. John's University (Anchal), Raja Arabic University (Nagpur) |
How to Verify Degree Authenticity?
Before joining any online/distance/normal course, the student needs to verify the following credentials:
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Go to the UGC Distance Education Bureau website (deb.ugc.ac.in) to check whether the university is approved to offer Distance or Online Learning Program (ODL).
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Make sure the institution is a recognized State/Central/Private/Deemed University according to Section 2(f) and 12(B) of UGC Act.
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Make sure the EdTech company is only a service provider and not the degree awarding or academic content provider.
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Verify the university on the Fake Universities List of UGC prior to paying the fees.
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Siddhi Sharma is an education journalist at Jagran Josh. A Journalism and Mass Communication graduate from IP University, she brings sharp newsroom instincts developed during her previous stint at Zee News. At Jagran Josh, Siddhi specializes in decoding the educational updates. Her coverage is highly exam-centric, ranging from curated news blogs for competitive exams to crucial school board and university news. Combining her strong media foundations with a research-driven approach, she creates reliable, high-utility content that helps students and aspirants stay ahead of the curve. Her writing is factual, engaging, and tailored to meet the fast-paced needs of modern learners and exam aspirants.
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