Mumbai, August 25: Declaring 21 universities as fake, the University Grants Commission (UGC) recently said that these institutions do not have any power to confer degrees to students. According to reports, the 21 institutions that have been declared fake have been functioning against the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.

According to a report in NDTV, out of the 21 universities deemed fake, eight are from Delhi and four universities are from Uttar Pradesh. Besides, there are two fake universities each in West Bengal and Odisha. On the other hand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Puducherry, and Andhra Pradesh have one fake university each. UGC Grants Foreign Students 25% Extra Seats, No Entrance Test.

In a statement, UGC said that universities that are established under a Central, State, and Provincial Act can only offer degrees. Besides, an institution that is a deemed-to-be university can also confer degrees. The official statement further said that those institutions which have been empowered by an Act of Parliament can also award degrees to students.

Interestingly, the UGC has termed the 21 fake universities as "self-styled, unrecognised institutions" that have no power to confer degrees. "Students and Public at large are hereby informed that presently following 21 self-styled, unrecognized 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," the statement by UGC read.

All India Institute of Public and Physical Health Sciences (AIIPPHS), Commercial University Ltd, United Nations University, St. John's University, Kishanattam Kerala, Nababharat Shiksha Parishad, North Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Indian Institute of Alternative Medicine, Institute of Alternative Medicine and Research, Gandhi Hindi Vidyapith, National University of Electro Complex Homeopathy, Raja Arabic University, etc are among the list of 21 universities that have been declared fake.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 25, 2022 09:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).