Not many are aware of a place called Kishanattam in Kerala. But the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) recently published list of fake universities in the country has an institution based there.
The UGC has listed ‘St. John’s University, Kishanattam, Kerala’ as among the 21 fake institutions in India, offering higher education in violation of its rules. “At least 21 self-styled, unrecognised 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,” Secretary Rajnish Jain said. Sources said that States were supposed to take action against such institutions based on the UGC list
Actually, ‘St. John’s University’ has been the only such institution from Kerala to have found a place on the list since 1994. The UGC publishes the list every year, and its website has the names of all the fake universities that have been duping students for the past 28 years. The location of ‘St. John’s University’ is mentioned as ‘Kisanattam’ till 2001. From 2002, it has been changed to ‘Kishanattam’. In one place, it has also been mentioned among the ‘Superintendent of Police of Districts having following Universities’ following the 2005 list. But there is neither a district by the name nor a Superintendent of Police there.
An official in the South-Western Regional office of the UGC in Bengaluru declined to comment when asked about the details of this ‘university’. Officials in the Higher Education Department in Thiruvananthapuram said they were not aware of any such institution. No complaints had been received from parents or students about it recently. However, one official said it was yet to verify whether the Department of Home had initiated any inquiry.
The sources said that many students were lured by the seemingly attractive and apparently affordable new courses offered through the distance education mode by universities that may exist only on paper. At least some of them are fronts for agencies that arrange fake degree certificates for cash.
Some time ago, there were reports about a ‘Mahatma Gandhi University’ in the northeast, which was a fake institution unauthorised to grant certificates. Many students, even those from Kerala, are reported to have applied there thinking it was a branch of Kottayam-based MG University.
