Education scam exposed: Degrees for sale!

Careers360 magazine investigated the dubious nexus between state universities, education intermediaries and private/public educational institutions, who flout norms with impunity, often endangering the careers of students by conferring on them a degree, which may not be legitimate.

All this happens as the regulators choose to look the other way. Read on!

By Urmila Rao

When Karnataka health minister SA Ramdas raided the offices of YGen Management Consulting Private Ltd, on a series of complaints against it and its partner Karnataka Open University (KSOU), little did he have an idea that he was opening a Pandora’s box, which would affect lakhs of students. His own quest led to another university, Gulbarga, which hastily ‘suspended’ its tie-up with YGen Management Consulting. Gulbarga’s registrar Hiremath clarified, “There was some problem with the outreach centres and the university was having second thoughts about running the programmes.”(Deccan Herald, May 8, 2012). The newspaper further quotes him, “Only provisional admission was made by the agencies and the university neither admitted any student nor collected any fee from them”. Hiremath was obviously referring to more than 2000 students enrolled by YGen through its ‘outreach centres’ to be offered Gulbarga University degree. As we go to press, the fate of these 2000 students hangs in the balance.

But the malice is widespread. Such arrangements get a facade of credibility from state universities like KSOU, Gulbarga Univeristy, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Bharathiar University and several others, offering their degrees. They confer ‘validity’ to unrecognized, unapproved private/public, for-profit institutions, that violate norms on every count with impunity. Worst of all, the entire method of functioning maybe illegal and degrees thus offered to students may not be legitimate.

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