The Hindu : New Delhi News : Warning bell against fake universities

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 01, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Warning bell against fake universities

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, MARCH 31. This is clearly a warning bell for students obsessed with foreign university degrees. Globalisation may have opened the doors for education around the globe, but if a recent letter from the State of Hawaii to the University Grants Commission (UGC) is anything to go by, then lack of quality checks is helping fake universities to operate from India without any problem.

In a recent communication to the UGC made through the United States Educational Foundation in India (USEFI) this February, the State of Hawaii informed that a "so called unaccredited University'' was operating in India by the name American University of Hawaii (AUH).

According to the letter written by the Office of Consumer Protection, State of Hawaii, the University is incorporated in Hawaii, has a small office in Maui and is operated by a British citizen of Iranian descent working out of California. "The AUH is not accredited by any recognised accrediting agency and is not licensed or approved by the State of Hawaii... .it claims to have affiliates, study centres and regional offices in some 18 countries. It has almost no students or graduates in the United States and primarily issues degrees and diplomas to non-US citizens, including those in India. Office of Consumer Protection of the State of Hawaii has obtained an injunction from an appropriate court in Hawaii barring it from doing business as a university,'' the letter states.

What makes it worse is the fact that the University managed to operate in India despite a Hawaii Court barring it from doing any business as a University from anywhere last year. The Second Circuit Court of the State of Hawaii had asked the University to pay a fine of $ 500,000 in civil penalties to the State of Hawaii and implement a restitution programme.

With the University failing to do so, it was permanently barred from providing any post to secondary instructional programmes or courses leading to a degree or for that matter act or hold itself out as a college, academy, institute or university. It also barred it from accepting any payments from any tuition payment or any other kind of fees or enrolling students.

While noting that it cannot help students as the University has no assets within the jurisdiction of the State of Hawaii to satisfy the judgement or to provide restitution to victims, the letter has further alerted the University from continuing its activities in India.

Interestingly enough, weeks after the letter was received, the UGC was more or less clueless about the situation. "We are not getting a clear picture as of now. There are different addresses and versions. Some say it is operating through net, while others say it also used to send print material. We would like to go cautiously as this also involves international relations,'' said the UGC Chairman, Arun Nigavekar.

While no students enrolled with the University have been traced yet, the UGC is hoping that putting up an alert on its website would be enough to spread the news, with the UGC Chairman noting that the next step "could be to make it more public''.

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