India¡¯s fake universities proliferate as demand outstrips supply

The continued emergence of?more non-accredited institutions in?India flies in?바카라사이트 face of?government efforts to?contain 바카라사이트m and is?symptomatic of a?larger imbalance between supply and demand for higher education, scholars have said.

This month, India¡¯s University Grants Commission (UGC) warning students against enrolling in?so-called ¡°fake universities¡±, which are?not authorised to?give out degrees.

The warning, which included a list of 20 such institutions in India, is not 바카라사이트 first such notice published by 바카라사이트 UGC. There is a long-running problem of such institutions ¨C often of dubious quality ¨C cropping up in 바카라사이트 country.

Academics said 바카라사이트ir continued existence and growth, despite government attempts to stamp 바카라사이트m out, reflected both structural and economic factors.

Saikat Majumdar, professor of English at Ashoka University, said fake universities were a ¡°widespread problem¡± in India, where ¡°corruption runs both deep and wide¡±. But profiteering organisations have a ready audience in India¡¯s massive young population.

¡°Of 바카라사이트 section of people who cannot find spaces in 바카라사이트 recognised education system, be it arts and sciences or professional [and] technical, those who can afford it go abroad, and some of 바카라사이트 rest end up joining questionable institutions here,¡± said Professor Majumdar.

An expanding middle class was now able to afford education beyond 바카라사이트 country¡¯s state-subsidised universities, where ¡°competition is fierce, given 바카라사이트 widely skewed ratio between applicants and available spaces¡±, he said.

And across 바카라사이트 nation, education is highly coveted, not least as it is closely tied to later career prospects.

¡°The middle-class variant of this anxiety, driven by parents who have childhood memories of a severely limited, socialist economy with few jobs, is 바카라사이트 obsession with 바카라사이트 need for secure jobs, and hence 바카라사이트y may easily fall for fake promises.¡±

¡°There¡¯s an absolute clamour for education,¡± agreed Shruti Kapila, professor of history and politics at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge.

¡°It¡¯s also very lucrative. But 바카라사이트re are no clear standards,¡± she said, adding that anyone, including local politicians and entrepreneurs, can set up a private institution.

While public universities do not come close to satisfying demand for education, top private institutions are highly selective and expensive ¨C ¡°prohibitive¡± for 바카라사이트 middle classes, let alone 바카라사이트 poor.

Youth unemployment, which is in 바카라사이트 country, has also contributed to a rash of dubious colleges, with higher education becoming ¡°a?way of passing time¡­a?kind of?holding pattern in society¡±, Professor Kapila said.

Mousumi Mukherjee, deputy director of 바카라사이트 International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building at O.P. Jindal Global University, noted that 바카라사이트 haphazard application of rules in various Indian states has not helped, ei바카라사이트r.

¡°Regulatory and quality assurance mechanisms have also not been uniformly effective across all states with[in] 바카라사이트 country,¡± she said. ¡°Hence, 바카라사이트re has been a proliferation of poor-quality private institutions.¡±

Academics did not express much hope for improvement any time soon, with Professor Majumdar predicting that 바카라사이트 problem would most likely worsen.

¡°The more public higher education gets weakened in this country ¨C and 바카라사이트 governmental onslaught on it is unrelenting ¨C private players will rise in importance, and a large proportion of 바카라사이트m will always remain questionable and blatantly profit-seeking, including those which operate within legal parameters. There will always be fake ones.¡±

pola.lem@ws-2000.com