Two institutes — Bhartiya Shiksha Parishad, Lucknow, (Uttar Pradesh) and Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), Qutub Enclave, New Delhi – are also found functioning in violation of the UGC Act, 1956. Matters involving the two are sub-judice, the union education ministry has informed Parliament recently.

Of the total bogus institutes awarding invalid degrees, Uttar Pradesh has eight fake universities, followed by Delhi, which has seven of them. Among other states, Odisha and West Bengal have two each.

UGC has said it has taken some steps against these “fake/non-recognised universities” from time to time, which includes issuing public notices about the list of fake universities/institutes in national Hindi and English newspapers.

The UGC has also written to state chief secretaries, education secretaries and principal secretaries to take action against fake universities/institutes located in their jurisdiction. The apex education regulator has also issued show-cause notices.

According to the All-India Survey of Higher Education, overall, there are 1,043 universities and 42,343 colleges in the country as of 2019-20. According to official data, at least 60.5% of the colleges are located in rural areas and 10.75% colleges are exclusively for female students. 

The total number of private colleges in the country, the details of which are available, is 31,390. Besides, there are 388 private universities and 88 private, deemed to be universities functioning in the country.