In a recent development, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has declared degrees issued by certain Indian educational institutions, which offer foreign degrees without proper recognition, as invalid. The UGC issued a notice stating that degrees from such institutes would not be deemed valid.
Several instances have come to light, including a business school in Karjat and a college in Bengaluru, where students were awarded UK university degrees without any interaction with UK faculty or campus. The UGC has raised concerns about such arrangements, emphasizing that degrees issued by institutes not recognized by them will not be considered valid.
One affected student, who studied at the Karjat college, discovered the invalidity of his degree when applying for the UPSC exam. Similar cases have been reported, with students realizing they were misled into believing their “Made-in-India” foreign degrees were globally authentic.
The UGC has criticized the franchise model adopted by many Indian institutions, where the local partner teaches the entire curriculum and awards an international degree without the requirement for students to spend time on the international partner’s campus, as required by Indian rules for twinning, joint, and dual degree arrangements.
While the allure of obtaining a foreign degree without leaving India has led to such collaborations, the UGC’s notice underscores that degrees issued through such collaborations are not recognized by the commission.
